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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: 'No One Can Convince Me' Jan. 6 Rioters Weren't Antifa

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Saturday said “no one can convince” her that the rioters behind the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol were not anti-fascist protesters and that she “cannot wait for a real investigation” to take place, in an apparent snub to the House committee investigation’s year-long probe.

Greene was speaking with fellow 2020 election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, also known as the My Pillow Guy, after attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas when she made her unsupported claims and shared her shock at the day’s violence.

“I was very upset. I never expected anything like that. And when that happened I thought, this is antifa, and no one can convince me it was so-called Trump supporters, and we know there’s a lot wrong there, and I cannot wait for a real investigation,” she said, while pointing a finger at anti-fascist protesters.

The House’s ongoing investigation into the attack has featured sworn testimony from supporters of former President Donald Trump, detailing how Trump’s rhetoric and his election loss fueled their decision to invade the Capitol. One former White House aide testified that Trump knew his supporters were armed and threatening violence when he urged them to march to the Capitol.

Despite this and other mounting evidence showing the contrary, Greene went on to call the federal government’s response to the riot ― which has led to more than 800 arrests and more than 200 criminal sentences by the U.S. Attorney’s Office ― “political persecution.” At the same time, she said those who did things that “they shouldn’t have done” should be treated better while behind bars.

“OK, they got charged for things they shouldn’t have done, OK, that happened, they deserve their day in court, they deserve their due process rights, but honestly, my gosh, what’s happening to these people is so heartbreaking,” she said. “I was in that jail, I saw them, it’s so sad. They hadn’t bathed, they didn’t have haircuts, they couldn’t shave because they weren’t vaccinated. They were treated worse if they weren’t vaccinated, but, what kind of country are we?”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, seen attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, said “no one can convince” her that the rioters behind the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol were not leftist anti-fascists. (Photo: Pacific Press via Getty Images)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, seen attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, said “no one can convince” her that the rioters behind the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol were not leftist anti-fascists. (Photo: Pacific Press via Getty Images)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, seen attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, said “no one can convince” her that the rioters behind the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol were not leftist anti-fascists. (Photo: Pacific Press via Getty Images)

Greene added that pro-life activists who recently made headlines for marching outside of the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh should be in jail.

Greene has gone back and forth on whether she believes Trump supporters were involved in the destruction and violence which left five people dead.

Back in April some of her text messages to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during the 2021 attack were published, revealing that she thought the protesters were members of antifa “dressed like Trump supporters.” But she also asked Meadows to urge Trump to calm the rioters, which Trump would likely not have been able to do if they were antifa members, given that many members of this movement are from the far left and against Trump.

“Please tell the President to calm people,” her text message read. “This isn’t the way to solve anything.”

A day later, she again texted Meadows suggesting that Trump supporters were indeed involved, but that they were desperate and “instigated” by antifa.

“I don’t think that President Trump caused the attack on the Capitol. It’s not his fault. Antifa was mixed in the crowd and instigated it, and sadly, people followed. But when people try everything and no one listens and nothing works, I guess they think they have no other choice,” she wrote.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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