Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was criticized after she shared video of herself berating NBC reporter Scott Wong after he quoted Greene in a segment about the January 6 insurrection.
Greene, who has continued to back former President Donald Trump's falsehoods about the integrity of the 2020 general election, insisted to Wong that Americans "are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time."
In the video, Greene can be heard defending rioters who participated in the attack on the United States Capitol, complaining they are "rotting in jail pre-trial."
But on social media, she claimed the video represented "a twisted sound bite of our words," a claim for which she was roundly mocked.
You can hear Greene's remarks in the video below.
When Wong asked Greene whether Republicans were wrong to boycott the formation of the House Select Committee tasked with investigating the events of January 6, Greene became visibly upset.
Greene said:
"You know what I think? I think the American people are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time."
"You know what they care about? They care about the border that's being invaded. They care about the gas prices they can't afford, the food prices they're about to not be able to afford, and they're sick and tired of the drama from all you people who run around the Capitol and that's all you want to talk about."
She went on to encourage Wong to visit her district and speak to her constituents, who she implied would back up her statements:
"You want to get outside the city [Washington D.C.] and come to my district and talk to real Americans, you're going to hear a totally different story. They are sick and tired of January 6. It's over, okay?"
"It was a riot. It was horrible, I hated it. I was shocked. It was a terrible experience."
"People are rotting in jail pre-trial because they've been arrested for it. Why don't you go to the jail and visit those people? Everyone is being prosecuted that should be prosecuted."
"Why don't you care about things that people honestly care about instead of continuing on with this, okay? Go ask about BLM [Black Lives Matter] and Antifa rioters. See if they're rotting in jail."
But as many pointed out, Greene's own words contradict her claim that her words are being "twisted" by the media.
She was swiftly criticized.
Greene has made headlines in the past for visiting insurrectionists in jail, once telling Steve Bannon, former President Donald Trump's ex-chief strategist, that the prisoners draw pictures of the American flag and sing the national anthem every evening while crying.
Greene has described the conditions in the jail as "deplorable" and claimed that unhoused people and Guantanamo Bay detainees enjoy better living conditions.
In November 2021, she said she had "never seen human suffering like I witnessed last night" after she was granted access to enter the D.C. Department of Corrections after months of trying.
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