Michigan Senator Mike Shirkey believes Capitol Riot was ‘staged’, Mitch McConnell was ‘one of them’

Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said in a recent conversation that “the Trump people” were not responsible for the riot at the United States Capitol and that people “wanted a disorder ”before violence.

Shirkey’s comments were recorded in a video that was posted to YouTube after meeting with members of the Hillsdale County Republican Party. The local GOP group then voted to censor him for not supporting former President Donald Trump enough and for not standing up to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over the Second Amendment and COVID-19 restrictions.

The conversation started off as a meeting about its upcoming censorship, but brought attention to the Capitol Riot. When asked “What about the DC thing?” Shirkey called it a “day one hoax.”

“Why wasn’t there more security?” Shirkey asked. “It was ridiculous. It was all staged.”

Shirkey called Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser a “puppet” and accused Senator Mitch McConnell of being “a part” because he said he was involved in the security decision-making process. .

“I think they wanted to have a mess,” Shirkey said, adding that the “mess” was in part due to the people who were recruited to participate and those who were “caught up” in the emotion of being. in a crowd.

“It’s silly. I’ve known him for over 10 years and what I saw in this video is not the type I knew,” said Jeff Timmer, former Michigan Republican Party executive director and senior advisor. of the Lincoln Project. Newsweek. “We see this guy’s unfiltered point of view … He’s unfit to run the Michigan Senate. “

In the wake of the riot, McConnell, a staunch ally of the former president, blamed Trump, saying he was “provoking” people who wanted to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory. He added that they were “fed on lies” and called for an investigation into the security of the Capitol.

“The ultimate blame for yesterday lies with the lopsided criminals who broke down doors, trampled our nation’s flag, fought with law enforcement and attempted to disrupt our democracy, and those who instigated them. But this fact does not and will not stand in the way of addressing the shocking failures in Capitol Hill posture and security protocols, ”McConnell said in a statement.

Newsweek contacted Shirkey and McConnell for comment, but did not receive a response in time for the post.

The Michigan Republican leader isn’t the first to question whether members of Congress played a role in the riot, but there has been no credible evidence to support the speculation.

In January, more than 30 Democratic members of Congress signed a letter to Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett and Acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Jennifer Hemmingway calling for an investigation into “suspicious behavior and access. visitors ”the day before the riot.

“There were unusually large groups of people throughout Capitol Hill who could only gain access to the Capitol complex from a member of Congress or a member of their staff,” the letter said. “Members of the group who attacked the Capitol appeared to have unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol complex.”

The riot on Capitol Hill has claimed the lives of at least five people, including Agent Brian Sicknick, and is the basis of Trump’s historic second indictment. House impeachment officials on Tuesday used footage of the riot to argue for Trump’s conviction by the Senate.

At least one rioter, Jake Angeli, also known as “QAnon Shaman,” offered to testify in Trump’s trial about how the former president instigated violence.

More than 100 people face riot-related charges, and a “top priority” for law enforcement is to determine if there was an “organized” mission inside the Capitol, Michael says Sherwin, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. However, so far there has been no evidence of outside groups, such as Antifa, fueling the riot.

Representative Debbie Dingell, who was in the House bedroom when the riot unfolded, told Shirkey in a tweet that reposted an article from the Detroit News that she heard the gunshot that killed Ashli ​​Babbitt.

“They came to kidnap and kill lawmakers,” Dingell said on Twitter. “It wasn’t a hoax, it was life or death.”