Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is facing charges of racism and is asking for his resignation after telling a radio host that he did not feel threatened by the pro-Donald Trump crowd that raided in January. the Capitol did not, but he would be concerned if the invaders were “antifa” or Black Lives Matter activists.
“I never really felt threatened,” said Jay Weber, a radio host in Wisconsin. He said the insurgents are mostly “people who love this country, who truly respect law enforcement, will never do anything to break a law”.
“If the tables had been turned and President Donald Trump won the election and there were thousands of protesters from Black Lives Matter and antifa, I would have been worried,” Johnson continued.
Five people were killed in the January 6 riot at the Capitol, including one police officer, and dozens injured. Prosecutors have charged more than 300 people with crimes and nearly as many have been arrested. Forty people have been arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers.
“It did not seem like an armed uprising to me,” Johnson told the radio host. ‘I mean’ armed ‘when you hear’ armed ‘, do not you think of firearms?
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel appeals to Johnson to resign in an editorial. “If he is re-elected, Johnson should be opposed in the primary and general election by people who care enough about democracy to support and defend it,” the newspaper said.
“No, Senator Ron Johnson,” tweeted Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, “the truth is that the insurgents did break the law on January 6, they hurt and killed law enforcers and tried to overthrow them. . the elected government of the United States.
“To say that the opposite of this group of insurgents applies, but that you would have been worried if they were protesters of Black Lives Matters, is racist, dangerous and is a US senator.”
Former Democratic senator Barbara Boxer has agreed.
“Everyone in the country and the world has seen the insurgents beat, injure and kill law enforcers on the Capitol. They have seen them break the law over and over while smashing windows and polluting the citadel of democracy,” she tweeted. . ‘Everyone except Senator Ron Johnson. He has to go. ”
A two-term senator, Johnson would be eligible for re-election in 2022. He was one of Donald Trump’s most outspoken defenders through the former president’s two indictments and supported Trump’s efforts to overthrow the 2020 election.
Days before the Capitol invasion, Johnson spread lies about voter fraud on national television and called for a “full investigative and factual authority” to audit the election. The Trump Department of Justice has found no evidence of election fraud and dozens of courts have rejected allegations of fraud by Trump attorneys as baseless.