As federal investigators look into possible connections between MAGA Republicans in Congress and the January 6 seditionists, Rep. Zoe Lofgran (D-CA) has quietly compiled and released nearly 2,000 pages of her colleagues' social media posts as potential evidence of their complicity.
In an introduction to her report, Lofgren says that “colleagues and constituents alike” have sought her opinion on recourse against any members who may have been involved in the insurrection. Although she did not directly say so in her introduction, Lofgren's clear intent was to gather evidence from the public statements of those members, via their social media posts, before and after January 6.
Probably the most disturbing material comes from Arizona’s Rep. Paul Gosar. From CNN:
The report features a collection of social media posts and tweets that span dozens of pages from Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar where he urges supporters to "hold the line," days before what would become the Capitol insurrection. In another social media post included in the report, Gosar wrote that "sedition and treason for stealing votes is appropriate."
The report also captures numerous tweets where Gosar invoked @ali on Twitter, which was formerly the account used by Ali Alexander, a leader of the "Stop the Steal" group, who said in several Periscope livestream videos that he planned the rally that preceded the riot in conjunction with Gosar and two other congressional Republicans, Mo Brooks of Alabama and Andy Biggs of Arizona.
The report is unwieldy to go through online. It got hung up on my computer multiple times, probably because a lot of people are viewing it now that word has gotten out in the media. But even a cursory look at some of the material is eye-opening. Case in point: Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), the Trump worshiper currently in the news for all kinds of other horrible behavior. The report includes multiple tweets from him supporting Trump against “MASSIVE” voter fraud, etc. Comments such as “We can’t let those responsible get away with this!” may have seemed relatively innocuous in December but in retrospect, not so much. 2,000 pages of this kind of material is mind blowing.
On January 5, Jackson posted his first op-ed as a member of Congress. Lofgren’s staff highlighted some of the sections.
We can save our great country, or we can fall into the hands of radical socialists who want to abandon American values and take away everything we hold sacred in our district. I, for one, will fight to save our nation and will stand for the Constitution by contesting the Electoral College. If we expect to remain a representative democracy, we must do everything we can to protect election integrity and fight for President Trump.
...
what we know to be true: President Trump won a second term. We will not sit quietly, particularly on January 6…
On January 6, Jackson posted, then deleted after the riot this tweet:
The full report is here.
