Washington Post columnist James Hohmann had Twitter users gigling after he unintentionally drew a penis on a graphic of witnesses who've given testimony before the House Select Committee tasked with investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
While the hearings have made for both riveting and consequential viewing as the nation continues to grapple with the impact of the attack by a violent White nationalist lead mob of former Republican President Donald Trump's supporters, the phallic display offered a dose of light humor to what would otherwise be entirely serious proceedings.
You can view the moment, which occurred during a Washington Post live analysis of the most recent hearing, below.
\u201cWait for it \u2026\u201d— KEEM \ud83c\udf7f (@KEEM \ud83c\udf7f) 1655857073
The five witnesses Hohmann circled on the telestrator were B.J. Pak, Shaye Moss, Brad Raffensperger, Rusty Bowers and Gabriel Sterling.
Taken together, they offered social media users a bout of hilarity.
As expected, the jokes pretty much wrote themselves.
\u201cI am 12 again. \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Drew Hawkins (@Drew Hawkins) 1655939842
\u201cThe second circle was just gloating.\u201d— Rob Slater (@Rob Slater) 1655941273
\u201cFreudian, ain't it?\u201d— El Presidente Ex Officio Ricardo (@El Presidente Ex Officio Ricardo) 1655871391
\u201cThe producer is screaming in his ear.\u201d— Hunter Baker (@Hunter Baker) 1655919630
\u201cJames, James, James... you just had to complete your masterpiece, didn't you? \ud83e\udee3\u201d— Stacy Martin (@Stacy Martin) 1655937192
\u201cWell played, TV man, well played. \ud83e\udee1\u201d— Mike Kupari \ud83d\ude80\ud83d\udca5 (@Mike Kupari \ud83d\ude80\ud83d\udca5) 1655868829
\u201cGenuinely hilarious, albeit childish \ud83d\ude02\ud83e\udd23\ud83d\ude07\u201d— Dr. Chris Dark (@Dr. Chris Dark) 1655877003
\u201cIt\u2019s a perfect metaphor.\u201d— The Warrior Poet (@The Warrior Poet) 1655900215
\u201cHe had to know. He HAD to know.\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\u201d— Lady Gravemaster (@Lady Gravemaster) 1655910722
Hohmann, a Washington Post opinion columnist and former political correspondent, is known for his live analysis and wry sense of humor that he honed after years of writing The Daily 202, the Post's flagship political newsletter.
His commentary on the witnesses who spoke before the committee came as former President Trump continued to attack the committee for its work, which he has long accused of harboring political animus.
A witness who received considerable attention was Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, a former Georgia election worker who shared her story about being unfairly targeted by Trump and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Moss said she and her mother, Ruby Freeman, were working in relative anonymity in Fulton County, Georgia, until Trump got it into his head that Moss and Freeman had been passing around USB ports like "vials of cocaine or heroin" and called Freeman a "professional vote scammer" and a "hustler."
Moss noted that Trump supporters had attempted to barge into her grandmother's home and that she and her mother continue to be targeted, unwitting victims of a lie that has spiraled well out of control.
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