Even by the requirements of a conspiracy theorist, the wild claims made by Consultant Clay Higgins, Republican of Louisiana, stand out.
The hard-right congressman, now in his fourth time period within the Home, stated that “ghost buses” introduced brokers provocateurs to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to incite the riot. He said that the federal authorities is waging a “civil war” against Texas. And he known as for prison fees in opposition to former President Donald J. Trump for mishandling categorized paperwork.”perimeter probe from the oppressors.”
However removed from relegating Mr. Higgins to the fringes of his more and more fractious convention, Home Republicans have elevated him. They made him chairman of the subcommittee that oversees border enforcement, and Speaker Mike Johnson named him one in every of 11 impeachment managers tasked with attempting to take away the homeland safety secretary from the 'workplace in a means of the Senate that must be subsequent week.
None of this has dampened Mr. Higgins' penchant for spreading unsupported theories, lots of which painting regulation enforcement and authorities in a sinister, conspiratorial gentle.
This week, in a prolonged podcast interview, he defined at size his perception — based mostly, he stated, on his personal intensive investigation and proof that solely he was in a position to see — that federal regulation enforcement officers the regulation ensnared the supporters of Mr. Trump in violence. assault the Capitol on January 6. He was repeating a conspiracy concept that has been debunked repeatedly.
In the midst of a two-hour interview on the “Implicit Bias” podcast, Mr. Higgins, who wore a shirt emblazoned with the brand of the Three Percenters, a right-wing anti-government militia, repeated the lie that the 2020 election it was fraudulent. He introduced a weird story that linked the rise of the coronavirus pandemic to what he stated was a plot by the federal government to infiltrate pro-Trump on-line boards and urged members to interact in “disclosure” habits. as he stated.
Lastly, he stated, though with out basis, that federal brokers posing as Trump supporters traveled to Washington on January 6 and tricked Mr. Trump's supporters into committing mob violence.
It was the newest reminder that, greater than three years after the assault, right-wing Republicans at each stage proceed to unfold lies about what occurred on January 6 and are actually attempting to make use of these lies as a rallying cry rally to denounce the federal government. promote the candidacy of Mr. Trump and rile up his supporters.
Mr. Higgins stated he had performed his personal investigation into what occurred that day. He predicted that when Home Republicans stopped releasing safety footage of the assault on-line, the fees in opposition to the Jan. 6 defendants could be dropped.
“All in all,” Mr. Higgins stated, “it was a nefarious agenda to lure the MAGA People.”
Mr. Higgins, who earlier than coming to Congress was accused of utilizing pointless pressure as a police officer, later gained fame for a sequence of widespread movies that earned him the nickname “Cajun John Wayne.”
He’s now the chairman of the Home Homeland Safety subcommittee on border enforcement. Neither Mr. Higgins nor Mr. Johnson responded to requests for touch upon their podcast look.
The Louisianian has lengthy peddled conspiracy theories, however the podcast interview he aired this week, which he promoted on social media, covers an unusually broad number of them.
For instance, Mr. Higgins stated he was “very suspicious” that whereas the votes within the presidential election have been being counted, Joseph R. Biden Jr. he outperformed Mr. Trump in some key states.
Describing the frustration of Trump supporters earlier than January 6, he stated: “We’re witnessing the demise of our republic.”
There isn’t any proof of normal voter fraud within the 2020 election. It was a lie that Mr. Trump advised after he misplaced.
Mr. Higgins then introduced an extended and convoluted concept that federal regulation enforcement embedded itself in varied teams of Trump supporters across the nation after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic — which sources stated have been suspicious. on their very own—they infuriated after which inspired them. to go to the Capitol on January 6.
“The unique seeds of riotous or unlawful habits or occupation amongst these teams have been planted by brokers embedded within the FBI in these teams,” stated Mr. Higgins.
Actually, it was Mr. Trump who requested his supporters to assemble in Washington on January 6, saying: “Sure, it is going to be wild!”
The defendant on January 6 efficiently argued entrapment as a protection in court docket. Even a lawyer for the extremist group Proud Boys, whose members have been charged with seditious conspiracy in reference to the assault, went to court docket final 12 months and known as that concept “slanderous.”
The truth that some FBI informants have been within the crowd of tens of 1000’s has lengthy been recognized, but it surely doesn’t counsel that the federal authorities was behind the assault. If something, it signifies the alternative: that the FBI failed to make use of the belongings it had in extremist organizations to know upfront that an assault is likely to be coming.
Steven M. D'Antuono, the previous head of the FBI's Washington area workplace, testified earlier than the Home Judiciary Committee that he believed there is likely to be a “few” individuals who had served earlier than as informants for the sphere workplaces who have been within the crowd. that day However, he stated, they weren’t requested by the drill to attend.
Many of the informants recognized in far-right teams just like the Proud Boys weren’t, by their accounts, recruited by the FBI to disclose secrets and techniques about their organizations. As a substitute, they stated they have been approached by the bureau to share what they knew about left-wing actions like antifa.
One of many FBI informants within the crowd on January 6 was James Ehren Knowles, a member of the Proud Boys Kansas Metropolis chapter. Proper-wing politicians and pundits have tried to spin Mr. Knowles' presence on the Capitol right into a narrative suggesting the company used secret brokers to instigate the revolt, however he advised a really completely different story below oath throughout the seditious conspiracy trial of the Proud Boys.
Mr. Knowles testified that he had not acted “on the path of the FBI” that day, however had joined the group as a member of a far-right group – or what a prosecutor stated described as “an impartial human being” to make his personal choices. .
Mr Higgins stated his claims of “ghost buses” got here from a whistle-blower who stated he noticed two white tour buses at Union Station early within the morning on January 6, which then disappeared. Tour buses carrying guests to Washington are an nearly ubiquitous sight within the space, particularly on days when massive occasions — equivalent to Mr. Trump's rally on the Ellipse on January 6 — are scheduled.
“We don't know what occurred to them,” Mr. Higgins stated ominously throughout the podcast. “I don't have the FBI, man.”
Christopher A. Wray, the director of the FBI, stated unequivocally that his company didn’t have a task in the reason for the riot within the Capitol. “For those who're questioning if the violence within the Capitol on January 6 was a part of some operation orchestrated by sources and/or FBI brokers,” Mr. Wray stated, “the reply is emphatically no.”
As his podcast hosts sampled costly whiskey, Mr. Higgins claimed unreleased Capitol surveillance footage leaked the Jan. 6 riots, and stated he had entry to inside info from the their processes.
“As soon as that is all out, then these J6 prosecutions will begin to fall,” Mr Higgins stated. “And also you're going to see the reversals of the chase.”
However the defendants and their legal professionals may have entry to the identical info, together with Capitol safety footage within the possession of Home Republicans.
The Division of Justice has charged greater than 1,350 folks in reference to the assault on the Capitol. The fees present a variety of guilt. Some, together with the chief of the Oath Keepers militia, have been convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to lengthy jail phrases. The others have been charged with mere violation and obtained no jail time.
The movies additionally present quite a lot of approaches by cops in numerous conditions. Some fought a bloody battle to maintain the rioters from breaching the constructing; some tried to make use of persuasion to get folks to go away the halls of Congress. Though in quantity, others are proven solely monitoring the group.
Six Capitol Law enforcement officials, out of a pressure of two,000, have been disciplined for his or her actions throughout the riot, together with for indecent conduct and failure to adjust to directives. However many extra fought strenuously to maintain the rioters out. About 150 cops have been injured throughout the assault.
