GOP Reps Louie Gohmert, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Bob Good yesterday conducted a news conference in support of the people who have been detained because of their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The event, which was scheduled at the same time as the Jan. 6 select committee's first hearing, was disrupted by Leftwing thugs, and you can see what went down through the CSPAN video below.
The Republican lawmakers had gathered Tuesday to press the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a status report on the “political prisoners” arrested following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
The lawmakers gathered to press the DOJ to provide information on a number of questions, particularly regarding the treatment of those who have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.
Members claimed the defendants have been treated unfairly, and that the DOJ has provided scant details on their conditions and situations.
Representative Paul Gosar called on the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to advocate for the January 6th prisoners during the brief press conference in front of the Department of Justice.
"The public demands it," Gosar said, "and the defendants deserve equal treatment under the law."
"How is it that those who are not even citizens get better treatment and have due process at Gitmo [Guantanamo Bay]," he added
“I, too, am happy to join my Republican colleagues and demand the answers to the very troubling reports that the Biden administration and Justice Department are mistreating nonviolent prisoners in connection with Jan. 6,” Gosar said.
He claimed that there are “disturbing reports” of some prisoners being abused and held in solitary confinement for as many 23 hours a day.
“These are not unruly or dangerous, violent criminals, these are political prisoners who are now being persecuted during the pain of unjust suffering,” he added.
Principled limited government constitutional conservative stalwart Rep. Louie Gohmert sounded a similar note, saying he was speaking out “to make sure that we have due process, that people that are brought to trial have an opportunity to have a fair trial, to get due process and see the evidence against them, and to actually see any exonerating evidence.”
During the press conference, Newsweek reported Rep. Gohmert said that people jailed for the January 6 attacks are being held without bail and held in solitary confinement.
"We are not here to do more than say give us answers to the questions we asked," he said.
"Let us know people are treated fairly and humanely," he added. "That is not too much to ask from the United States or the U.S. Department of Justice."
The fiery press conference occurred at the same time police officers were testifying on Capitol Hill before the Jan. 6 select committee that is probing the riot Democrats and their media allies continue to claim was an “insurrection.”. That hearing, where one police officer described the rioters as "terrorists," offered a starkly different illustration of the events that unfolded on Jan. 6 from the one the Republicans described at the DOJ, reported Mychael Schnell for The Hill newspaper.
The Republican event at the DOJ came after Greene, Gaetz, Gohmert and Gosar penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Saturday requesting information about the status of Jan. 6 defendants and related investigations.
The lawmakers said they were holding a press conference at the DOJ because Garland had not responded to their request.
“We're here today demanding answers to serious questions that the Department of Justice has ignored over these past several months despite repeated inquiries from my colleagues and other members of Congress regarding the treatment of the Jan. 6 defendants,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said at the news conference.
“In this country, there should be no question about the legal treatment of an American prior to their opportunity to answer the charges brought against them before a judge or a jury of their peers. Due process must be afforded to all Americans, period,” he added.
Greene addressed the demonstrations taking place during the news conference, saying, “To the guy that’s blowing the whistle: we are not deterred.” “And so for anyone that's here, being an activist and yelling today, here's the statement that I need everyone to understand: we will not back down, we will not stop asking questions, we are looking for the truth. And we believe the truth can be found by reaching out and answering and asking the right questions to the right people,” she added.
Moments later, an unidentified man who appeared to be holding back the protesters, which were inching closer to the lawmakers, said the event had to end.
“The left is interrupting the press conference, we need to end it,” the man announced, as protesters gathered behind the lawmakers with signs.
As the Republicans left the microphones at the DOJ, the protesters followed them down the street.
The toll-free Capitol Switchboard is (1-866-220-0044) we urge CHQ readers and friends to contact their Representative and Senators to demand that those arrested in relation to the January 6 riot at the Capitol be treated with the same rights to humane conditions and the constitutional protections of habeas corpus, due process, a speedy trial and an unprejudiced and neutral venue that are the birthright of every American.
Update: Just after CHQ went to press our friend Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement in reaction to the press conference:
“Today America witnessed true courage as six GOP members of Congress stood in front of the Department of Justice demanding due process for hundreds of U.S. citizens imprisoned, often times kept in solitary confinement for months, for actions on Jan. 6th which don’t even rise to the level of being a felony. Whether these people are guilty or innocent matters much less than the obvious fact that the federal government under Joe Biden’s leadership has chosen to deny them even the most basic rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
“Meanwhile down the street in a Committee hearing far away from reality, two other erstwhile GOP members of Congress gave aid and comfort to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s on-going witch hunt. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is right in calling out these ‘Pelosi Republicans’ for their efforts to help the Speaker in her five year quest to get Donald Trump. By participating in the Democrat Show Trial, Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger need to be removed from their committee assignments and replaced by other GOP House members. If Pelosi wants to add them, she should be required to replace other Democrats to accommodate that wish.
“Let’s be clear. Americans for Limited Government decried the decision by those who entered the Capitol complex on Jan. 6th in real time. Let’s also be clear. Those who are alleged to have broken windows or doors, assaulted Capitol police, or even the hundreds who just wandered into the Capitol or onto the Capitol grounds taking selfies, should be afforded their day in court. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and should be treated accordingly. To do less is to fail the very constitutional framework which undergirds our entire legal system. And that is what an honest Jan. 6th investigation would pursue: the obfuscation of the truth about events around Jan. 6 and the failure of our legal system to afford protections of even the most basic liberties our nation used to cherish and defend.”
Jan 6 Detainees
Louie Gohmert
Paul Gosar
Matt Gaetz
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Rep. Bob Good
Department of Justice
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Attorney General Merrick Garland