Former GOP Congressman Rohrabacher Says He Was Outside the Capitol Protesting on January 6th
Former Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R- CA) was part of the march on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th, but said in a new interview he did not go inside.
Rohrabacher confirmed his participation after a tweet purporting to identify him there made the rounds on Twitter:
#SeditionHunters – Thursday’s arrest of Alan Hostetter highlighted extremism in Orange County, CA, but even he is junior-league. We knew OC would send their finest, and here he is, the highest-profile #SeditionVIP yet: former U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA 42). 1/ pic.twitter.com/yJDdR5aR4T
— capitolhunters (@capitolhunters) June 12, 2021
In an interview with the Portland Press Herald, the former congressman said, “I marched to protest, and I thought the election was fraudulent and it should be investigated, and I wanted to express that and be supportive of that demand.”
He continued on to say that “by going into the building, they gave the Left the ability to direct the discussion of what was going on in a way that was harmful to the things we believe in,” though the Press Herald adds he believes “‘Leftist provocateurs’ encouraged the crowd to breach the building.”
The report noted, “He was nearly 500 feet beyond the police barriers and inside the restricted zone, but there is no indication he attempted to climb the West Plaza steps or enter the building.”
Rohrabacher served in Congress for 30 years, until 2018, and came under intense criticism over the last few years of his tenure for pro-Russia views, to the point where a 2016 Politico report called him “Putin’s favorite congressman.”
