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Rep. Louie Gohmert said Capitol rioters are political prisoners held hostage by the government.
The Texas congressman made the remarks during a lengthy speech on the House floor on Friday.
Gohmert also said there was no evidence the Capitol rioters were armed.
Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas took to the House floor on Friday to downplay the January 6 Capitol riot, describing the insurrections as political prisoners held hostage by their own government. Joe Biden s Justice Department is criminalizing political protest, but only political protest by Republicans or conservatives, Gohmert said in his lengthy speech in which he cited several conservative news outlets, according to CNN. They re destroying the lives of American families, they re weaponizing the events of January 6 to silence Trump-supporting Americans.
By Syndicated Content
(Corrects timing in paragraph 2)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) â The top Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee on Friday said they had reached a deal to push forward with a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 storming of U.S. Capitol.
In a statement, Democratic chairman Bennie Thompson and ranking member John Katko said they would introduce legislation aimed at setting up the investigative panel on Friday for consideration before the House as soon as next week.
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House to vote soon on bills to protect Capitol after Jan. 6
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and KEVIN FREKINGMay 14, 2021 GMT
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) The House is expected to vote next week on legislation aimed at preventing more attacks on the U.S. Capitol, seeking to establish a 9/11-style commission to study what went wrong on Jan. 6 while allocating $1.9 billion to address the security problems revealed by the insurrection.
Rep. Louie Gohmert defends Capitol riot suspects: Their only crime was supporting Donald Trump
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Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, speaks at the Freedom Caucus press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 2020. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)Yuri Gripas, MBR / TNS
WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert defended people arrested for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, calling the vast majority of them “peaceful Americans” during an hourlong speech on the floor of the House of Representatives.
The Tyler Republican and former judge pointed to some defendants being held for weeks in jail in Washington awaiting trial, calling them “political prisoners held hostage by their own government.”
Updated 7:22 AM ET, Wed April 21, 2021
In this July 27, 2020, file photo, federal police face off with protesters in front of the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in downtown Portland, Oregon. (CNN)The Trump administration s Department of Homeland Security surged hundreds of federal agents to Portland, Oregon, last summer with incomplete training and missing equipment, a new watchdog report says.
The department s inspector general flagged several major concerns with the deployment of more than 700 officers, including failure to properly train them to police riots and to conduct crowd control operations, raising concerns of increased risk to both officers and the public.
Tensions grew in Portland over the summer after federal officers arrived in the city, which had experienced prolonged and at times violent protests over demands for racial justice and police accountability.