Ron Johnson Defends Claiming ‘Fake Trump Supporters’ Stormed Capitol: Might Be ‘Flawed’ Evidence, ‘But Why Exclude it?’

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) defended himself in a new interview against extensive questions over whether he  spread conspiracy theories about the Capitol attack.

The New York Times conducted an interview with Johnson that focused on his remarks during Senate hearings on the security failures during the January riot. Johnson was specifically asked about how he promoted a Federalist article from J Michael Waller, who claimed the insurrection was actually incited by provocateurs and “fake Trump supporters.”

Johnson defended his citation of Waller’s “unblemished accounting” of the riot, saying “it just looks like he had a pretty good background” and “he seemed to be a knowledgeable observer” of what took place.

“I’m not saying you accept everything,” he said. “You don’t necessarily accept his conclusions. I think you kind of have to take at face value what he said he saw.”

The interview went on with Johnson being further interrogated for advancing Waller’s claims without vetting them, in spite of all the evidence that the insurrection was not a false flag operation. Johnson responded by referring back to Waller’s account, hedging on whether he shares the writer’s conclusions, and grumbling over the media scrutiny for his remarks on the riot.

From Johnson’s interview:

I’m not questioning his veracity. I believe he’s probably telling the truth. That’s what he saw. I’m not agreeing with any conclusions. I’m not sure he’s really making too many conclusions, other than he concluded he saw four individual types of groups that stood out from the crowd.

It might be a flawed part of the evidence, but why exclude it? Just because it doesn’t necessarily tie into whatever narrative somebody else wants to tell about the day? I’m not interested in the narratives, I’m interested in the truth.

Johnson also used the interview to deny the notion that Republicans bear responsibility for public district in the 2020 election results, after a number of top Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, falsely claimed it was stolen. He also doubled down on his view that the Capitol riot was not an “armed insurrection.”

“If it’s properly termed an ‘armed insurrection,’ it was a pretty ragtag one,” the senator said. “I don’t dispute the destruction, or destructive capability of things like flagpoles and bats and that type of thing, but again, words have meaning.”