Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed Antifa and said “no one can convince her” that the violent protesters who took part in the Jan. 6 riots were Donald Trump supporters.
“I was very upset. I never expected anything like this. And when it happened, I thought, this is Antifa, and no one can convince me that they were so-called Trump supporters, and we know there’s a lot wrong there, and I can’t wait investigations, a real investigation,” Ms Green said.
The far-right Republican leader was talking to 2020 election conspiracy theorist Mike Liddell on his show.
The Biden administration’s response to the insurgency is a “political prosecution” that has seen more than 800 arrests and more than 200 criminal sentences, he said.
The MP added that people who did things they “shouldn’t have done” should be treated better during their time in prison, highlighting her visit to prisons.
“Okay, they got charged for things they shouldn’t have done, okay, that happened, they deserve their day in court, they deserve their rights, but honestly, my God, what’s happening to these people is so heartbreaking.” he said in the Lindell TV interview.
He added: “I was in that prison, I saw them, it’s so sad. They hadn’t bathed, they hadn’t had their hair cut, they couldn’t shave because they weren’t vaccinated. They were treated worse if they weren’t vaccinated, but what kind of country are we?”
The Georgia spokeswoman has not made a clear position on whether she believes Mr Trump’s supporters were involved in the riots at the US Capitol.
One of the biggest supporters of Trump’s claims that the election that declared Joe Biden the winner was stolen, Ms Green had texted former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on the day of the violent attack and said she feared there was a active shooter at the scene.
“Tell the president to calm people down. That’s not the way to solve anything,” said Ms Green, who is a frequent conspiracy theorist.
But the very next day, she tried to backtrack on her claims about Mr Trump, saying: “I don’t think President Trump caused the attack on Capitol Hill.”
“It’s not his fault. Antifa was mixed in with the barks [sic] and he instigated it, and unfortunately people followed. But when people try everything and no one listens and nothing works, I guess they have no choice,” she said in a text message.
With just days to go before Trump’s January 17 presidency, Ms Green said she should call for martial law, which she misspelled as “marshal”.
“In our private members-only conversation, several say the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall Law [sic]”, she had said. “I don’t know about these things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. Then they will destroy our country. Please call [sic] to declassify him as much as possible so we can go after Biden and whoever else!”