Jan6 Stuff

Newsweek:

Marjorie Taylor Greene Was 'Gleeful' During Capitol Riots, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney Says

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was "gleeful" as supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Maloney made the remarks during an interview on the latest edition of MSNBC's Deadline: White House. The congressman said he noticed unusual behavior from Greene and her staff after being evacuated from the Capitol, where lawmakers had gathered to certify President Joe Biden's 2020 election win during a joint session of Congress, to an "undisclosed location" once the insurrection began.

"Look, I was there," said Maloney. "I was on the House floor. I was in that undisclosed location with a bunch of Republicans who were... one in particular, who was gleeful at what was transpiring outside. It took me a minute to understand why she was having such a good time. But I saw it, I saw it with her staff who caught up with her. They were excited about what was going on."

"They had been at the White House, I believe, the day before—talking about what was going to happen," he added. "I mean, it's not really a mystery when [Rep.] Mo Brooks is down at the rally, whipping up the crowd and pointing them towards the capitol, I believe, with a bulletproof vest on... a lot of this is right out there in the open."

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was "gleeful" during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Greene is pictured smiling at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 2021.KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY

After host Nicolle Wallace asked Maloney to identify the "gleeful Republican," the New York Democrat said, "I don't want to say, but her initials are Marjorie Taylor Greene."

"This is total bullshit. Sean Maloney is a liar," Greene's Communications Director Nick Dyer said in a statement to Newsweek. "Congresswoman Greene has repeatedly denounced the events of January 6th, including the day of the event when she filmed a video condemning the lawlessness while in a secure location."

While Greene has condemned the violence on January 6, she also at one point claimed that rioters were members of Antifa, or anti-fascist activists, who had disguised themselves as Trump supporters—a debunked conspiracy theory that emerged immediately after the insurrection. Anthony Aguero, a friend of Greene and a videographer, was present at the riot and extensively documented the pro-Trump crowd, while later dismissing claims that Antifa was involved.

Months after the storming of the Capitol took place, Greene voted against Capitol Police officers being honored for holding back rioters during the insurrection, explaining that she did "not believe that that was insurrection." Separately, she introduced legislation to honor "heroic law enforcement officers and those who protect American cities from Black Lives Matter terrorists."

Late last month, Greene joined House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in threatening to "shut down" telecommunications companies if they comply with a records request from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. The committee is seeking the communication records of several Republican members of Congress in the days leading up to the insurrection.