GOP Rep Adam Kinzinger accuses Ron Johnson of trying to ‘rewrite history’ with BLM remarks

Illinois Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger criticized recent comments by Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson as “a rewrite of history.”

Last Thursday, Johnson said he would have worried during the Jan.6 uprising on Capitol Hill if the rioters had been associated with Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifa rather than with supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Speaking of insurgents backing Trump, Johnson told Tory podcaster Joe Pagliarulo, “I knew these are people who love this country, that they really respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break a law, and so I was not worried. “

In an interview with CNN host Wolf Blitzer on Monday, Kinzinger said Johnson’s comments were “a rewrite of history.”

“I don’t know why people like Senator Johnson insist on going back and saying it really wasn’t that big of a deal,” Kinzinger said. “It’s a rewrite of history that frankly won’t smile on him well in the history of the time.”

Kinzinger said he condemned both the Jan. 6 insurgency and the riots that coincided with the summer uprising for racial justice. However, he said the two were not comparable because the insurgency “was a threat to the institution of democracy”.

When asked if he viewed Johnson’s comment as “racial”, the representative for Illinois said Johnson’s comment had “a racial connotation.”

“It’s just tribalism,” Kinzinger continued. “Everyone goes into their tribes and what the senator seems to be saying is, ‘You know, if it was my tribe that attacked the Capitol, I was fine with that. “”

In a statement obtained by The hill Johnson defended his comment on the BLM and Antifa protesters last Saturday.

“Of the 7,750 protests last summer associated with the BLM and Antifa, 570 turned into violent riots that killed 25 people and caused $ 1 billion to $ 2 billion in property damage. That’s why I would have been more concerned, ”Johnson said.

In a statement to NewsweekJohnson’s director of communications Ben Voelkel said lawmakers have repeatedly condemned the January 6 riots and those that perpetrated them, including in the aforementioned interview with Pagliarulo.

Johnson’s statements about the insurgency have drawn notoriety and criticism as Congress continues to investigate key players in the riot and security failures.

On February 15, Johnson said the incident “did not appear to me to be an armed insurgency”, due to its lack of guns. On February 23, Johnson said in a Senate speech that “false supporters of Trump” and Antifa were present in the insurgency.

Johnson derived his claim about false Trump supporters from an unverified article by security analyst J. Michael Waller. Johnson admitted that Waller’s assessment “might be … wrong,” but defended himself by citing it in the interest of pursuing all possible explanations.

FBI Deputy Director Steven D’Antuono said there was “no indication” to support claims that Antifa protesters participated in the insurgency. Johnson himself has said he doesn’t believe Antifa or Black Lives Matter were behind the insurgency. He also said white supremacist groups were involved in pre-planning the riot.

Despite Johnson’s claim that pro-Trump insurgents “genuinely respect law enforcement” and “would never do anything to break a law,” more than 300 have been arrested and charged with breaking numerous laws during the uprising of January 6.

Around 140 police officers were injured in the uprising, including one with a broken spine, a lost eye, lost fingers and some with brain damage.

Update (03/15/2020, 11:19 p.m.): This article has been updated to include a statement from Johnson’s office.