Representative Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Tayor Greene held a press conference to discuss the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and the current state of Congress’s investigation.
“We know this. What happened last year was not an insurrection,” Gaetz told the members of the media. “It may have very well been a fedsurection.”
Gaetz explained that he and Greene had repeatedly requested information from the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland with no results.
“It seems like senior officials in our justice department have no problem giving long speeches to try to political target and smear those they disagree with, but they don’t answer the questions that can get to the truth of what really happened on January 6,” Gaetz said.
Gaetz and Greene, who represent Florida and Georgia, respectively, walked reporters through the infamous day's events using videos recorded on the scene before the security breach. Footage included clips of Ray Epps, a man accused of being an FBI plant removed from the agency’s Capitol Violence Most Wanted List on July 1, telling the assembled that they needed to go into the Capitol.
They also noted that John Sullivan, the man who recorded Ashli Babbit’s death in the Capitol and sold the footage to the media, had not been arrested for his involvement on Jan. 6.
Both representatives noted they had planned to object to the presidential election votes tallied in Michigan on the day of the riot. They said they could not do so because of the evacuation that followed the security breach.
Gaetz and Greene contended that, throughout history, FBI data suggests a possible pattern of federal agents and informants, who “animated and encouraged” criminal activity, escalating situations more than they would have developed without their interference.
The representatives affirmed that they did not support violence and called for the hours of security footage captured at the Capitol that day to be released.
They also called on the federal government to use the January 6 committee correctly to investigate the events at the Capitol. The two contend the committee is unwilling to press the FBI on its actions and decisions that day and leading up to Jan.6, 2021.
Greene drew attention to the judicial disparity between the treatment of those involved in the security breach and the Black Live Matter protestors who damaged cities while rioting during the summer of 2020.“With the U.S. Capitol riot, there are over 725 arrests that I know of and only one of those cases has been dropped,” Greene said. “For BLM-Antifa riots, there were over 16,240 arrests, and over 90% of those cases have been dropped. What’s the difference there, everyone?
“I’ll tell you. For the BLM Antifa riots and violence, the victims were the American people and communities and cities all across our country. But on January 6th, you know who the victim was? It was the Capitol and the members of Congress inside,” she continued. “Why is this Congress obsessed with itself and cares nothing about the American people?”
Gaetz and Greene reiterated that they believe many of the people arrested for their alleged involvement in the security breach are having their due process rights violated while being held in jail.
They both confirmed they would not attend the vigil tonight at the D.C. jail for those arrested in connection with the Capitol security breach.
