GOP Lawmaker Claims The U.S. Capitol Attack Was An Anti-Trump Hoax

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:31 pm

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A top Michigan lawmaker was caught on tape calling last month’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol a “hoax” that was “staged” by critics of Donald Trump.

According to the Detroit Metro Times, “Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey suggested the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a ‘hoax’ perpetuated by opponents of former President Donald Trump.”

Shirkey even suggested the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “was part of” last month’s MAGA coup attempt.

“I think there are people above elected officials,” the Michigan lawmaker said, crawling deeper down the conspiracy rabbit hole.  “There are puppeteers.”

More from the Detroit Metro Times report:

The state Senate’s top Republican made the bizarre and unfounded claim in a video-recorded meeting at a diner last week with leaders of the Hillsdale County Republican Party, who were discussing censuring him for not taking a bold enough stand against Democrats.

“That wasn’t Trump’s people. That’s been a hoax from day one. That was all prearranged,” Shirkey, a Clarklake Republican, said of the riot. “It was arranged by somebody who was funding it. … It was all staged.”

The GOP is the party of dangerous conspiracy theorists

People like Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Mike Shirkey aren’t outliers in the Republican Party. They represent exactly what the party has become since it embraced Trumpism more than five years ago.

Following Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden, GOP leaders like Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy could have forcefully steered the party away from Trumpism and back toward sanity.

Republicans instead chose to double down on Trumpism.

Donald Trump may be out of the White House, but the GOP is without a doubt owned by MAGA extremists and dangerous conspiracy theorists.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.