Politico Sends Josh Hawley a Cease and Desist Letter Over Infamous Jan. 6 Fist-Pump Photo
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Politico demanded Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) campaign stop selling merchandise of his fist-pump to protestors on January 6 ahead of the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol.
E&E News (which is owned by Politico) reported that lawyers for Politico sent Hawley’s office a cease-and-desist letter last month, telling them to stop using their photo of the senator on mugs his office is selling. The mug shows a stylized depiction of Hawley raising his fist in salute of the 2020 election protesters who gathered in Washington D.C., the same crowd which gave way to the insurrectionist mob that violently attacked the Capitol.
The original Hawley photo was taken by E&E photographer Francis Chung, and Politico’s lawyers say his office’s use of it is an unauthorized violation of their intellectual property.
“We do not authorize its use by the Hawley campaign for the purpose of political fundraising, which the campaign has been put on notice of by legal counsel,” a Politico spokesperson told The Hill. “We are eagerly awaiting a response, but in the interim again respectfully ask that the campaign immediately cease and desist unauthorized use of the image.”
New: Josh Hawley is officially selling his 1/6 fist-pump as a mug pic.twitter.com/sNzCbaam1B
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 14, 2022
Hawley was one of the lawmakers who on Jan. 6 objected to the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump. Between Hawley’s election challenge and his fist-pump to the “Stop the Steal” crowd, the senator has been frequently criticized by those arguing he was complicit in the riot, because he gave credibility to the false claims that the election was fraudulent.
Hawley has stood by his election objections, and he previously defended selling the mugs, claiming “This was not me encouraging rioters”
“At the time that we were out there, folks were gathered peacefully to protest, and they have a right to do that. They do not have a right to assault cops,” Hawley said in an interview last month. “They’ve been treated as if, if you were here, if you were in Washington, if you went to the Capitol, ‘You’re a thug. You’re a criminal.’ I disagree with that really strongly.”
