New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez trolled House Republicans after they claimed the ongoing hearings into the events of January 6, 2021—the day former President Donald Trump's supporters attacked the United States Capitol on the false premise the 2020 general was stolen—are little more than "old news."
After the House Judiciary Committee's official Twitter account tweeted as such, Ocasio-Cortez demanded the committee take time "reminding us which of your members sought pardons after the attack."
She mentioned specific names, including Representatives Andrew Clyde and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia), Paul Gosar (Arizona), Matt Gaetz (Florida), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Lauren Boebert (Colorado) and Scott Perry (Pennsylvania), all of whom have continued to back the false and disproven narrative the 2020 election was stolen despite their own wins in that same election.
And after Representative Jordan attempted to deflect attention from the hearing to complain about "record crime in Democrat-run cities," Ocasio-Cortez pointed out seven of the 10 "deadliest cities in America" are, in fact, run by Republican administrations.
Many have backed Ocasio-Cortez, and echoed their criticisms of Republicans who have continued to downplay the events of the day.
The Capitol riot ultimately resulted in at least five deaths, including a Capitol Police Officer who suffered a stroke at the hospital after sustaining injuries during the attack.
The insurrection was characterized, at least in part, by insurrectionists' heavy clashes with law enforcement. Over 100 injuries were reported by police and millions of dollars of damages recorded.
During the first of the hearings into the attack, Wyoming Republican Representative Liz Cheney, who serves as the committee's Vice-Chair, alleged in her opening statement several Republican members of the House sought pardons to absolve them of tampering in the election.
Cheney only mentioned one by name–Perry–but said multiple "Republican Congressmen also sought presidential pardons for their roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 election," an admission that sparked considerable discussion among those viewing the hearings about the extent of the ruse.
