The Insurrectionist Takeover of the Republican Party
The Republican Party has unapologetically embraced the pardoned Capitol Rioters — more than 40 attended CPAC and several others have been invited to speak at Republican Party events.
The Republican Party has now completely and unapologetically embraced the supporters of President Donald Trump that attacked the U.S. Capitol as part of a violent insurrection on January 6, 2021.
In the weeks since Trump signed sweeping pardons and commutations, Republican lawmakers and activists have welcomed and defended the Capitol Rioters — including those that are members of far right extremists groups and those that engaged in violence against police officers.
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was attended by at least 45 Capitol Rioters, including several members of far right extremist groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Capitol Rioters spoke on panel discussions, gave multiple interviews to journalists from various publications, and took photos with prominent right-wing activists and influencers such as Steve Bannon and Mike Lindell.
In recent weeks, at least half a dozen Capitol Rioters have been invited to speak or attend events sponsored or organized by local Republican Party organizations or conservative groups. They have also made numerous appearances in right-wing media and podcasts, and they have repeatedly spread misinformation about the events during the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Barry Ramey, who was convicted of multiple felonies including pepper-spraying two Capitol police officers and was sentenced to 60-months in prison, told The Washington Post that he’s “been speaking at Republican events.” Earlier this month, Ramey, who was a member of the Proud Boys, received a standing ovation from the audience while attending an event at Club 47 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Kirstyn Niemela, who was convicted on multiple charges and sentenced to 11-monts in prison, told The Washington Post that she has “been asked to speak on podcasts, radio and at some local New Hampshire events at wineries.”
Niemela recently told the Boston Globe that there “should be investigations and compensation for my prison sentence and for defamation of character and slander,” and claimed that she’s not a members of the Proud Boys and that “January 6 was lies by the mainstream media.”
However, a witness told federal law enforcement officers that Niemela showed them video of her breaking windows in the U.S. Capitol building, and also told the witness that “she was a member of the Proud Boys,” according to court documents.
Derek Kinnison, was convicted of multiple felonies and sentenced to 33-months in prison, was a member of the far right militia group the Three Percenters and planned and coordinated with other members in the California Patriots-DC Brigade Telegram channel. The group brought multiple weapons to Washington, D.C., and stored five handguns in their hotel room.
Since receiving a pardon, Kinnison was reportedly “celebrated as a hero by members of his hometown church” of 412 Church Temecula Valley in Temecula, California. The Golden State Republican Women have invited Kinnison to speak during a Zoom event next month, and Kinnison was described by the group as “January 6th survivor.”
Suzanne Ianni and Mark Sahady are leaders of the anti-LGBTQ extremist group Super Happy Fun America, were involved in organizing buses of right-wing activists to Washington, D.C. Ianni was pleaded guilty to single charge and sentenced to 15-days in jail and 30-months of probation, and Sahady convicted of multiple charges and sentenced to 5-months in prison.
Inanni and Sahady were invited to speak at an event hosted by Hudson Republican Town Committee — the event’s name: “Civics Matters”
However, the event has since been cancelled because the RTC claimed that the group “could not pay for police and for insurance in response to an anticipated protest against the event,” and that an “estimated 700 people could have shown up to protest.”
Matthew Brackley, who pleaded guilty to assaulting two Capitol Police officers and was sentenced to 15-months in prison, who regrets assaulting police officers but still believes the 2020 election was stolen. Brackley recently spoke at an event in Topsham, Maine, which was organized by by the Republican Committees of Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc and Lincoln counties.
"I do think we were well within our rights to protest,” Brackley said. “But if I had to do it all over again, and it's not because I got arrested and I went to jail and all that, it's because I believe this. I believe that we should follow the law. So, if I were to go again, and I would go again, I would have stayed. I would not have entered any restricted areas."
Derek Gunby, who was convicted of four misdemeanor charges related to his participation in the Capitol Riot, recently attended a meeting of the Greenville County Republican Party in South Carolina.
While attending the meeting, Gunby said during an interview that “obviously we wanted more of an exoneration,” but that he believes that “exoneration and vindication” are coming. “We didn’t do anything wrong by going up there to protest in the first place, and there was so many shenanigans that went on that day – it wasn’t just a whole bunch of patriots went up there and tried to overthrow democracy and the government,” Gunby said.
Gunby also said that anyone that participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol did not actually intended to "overthrow democracy," because, he claims, "we would have brought better toys to play with."
So, you’re worried about WE THE PATRIOTS taking over the Republican Party? You should be worried. 😁🇺🇸
How has the lies, falsehoods, come to this ? What do we need to do going forward ? Signed discouraged, yet hopeful .