Democratic Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson has strong words about those causing chaos at the Capitol.
Guesting on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation Saturday, the politician claimed that, had a Capitol police officer not fired the shot which struck unarmed Ashli Babbitt (who later died), he and others would’ve been literally lynched.
‘Our first martyr.' How Ashli Babbit is being turned into a far-right recruiting tool https://t.co/S160g47cXg
— TIME (@TIME) January 10, 2021
Speaking to host Al Sharpton, Hank indicated white supremacy is what it’s all about:
“This is nothing but a race war that was about to be unleashed.”
According to the congressman, what many are calling a murder stopped the siege:
“Had it not been for the gunshot of the one shot fired by that plainclothes officer in the Speaker’s lobby right behind the House gallery…if those people had been able to get through, they would have had us who were in the gallery up on the third floor trapped.”
An extraordinary interview by Reverend Al Sharpton with Hank Johnson, who describes how easily he could have been lynched by the Jan 6 mob, had the police officer not shot one of the intruders https://t.co/uZs7qqaXXl
— Roufa Therrien | She, Her | #TalkAboutXXY (@roufa_therrien) January 10, 2021
And what would’ve occurred?
About that, Hank’s sure:
“Reverend Al, when they…finally got us out of there, we walked past spread-eagled rioters on the floor at gunpoint by the Capitol Hill police officers as we went down the steps. They had us surrounded up there on the 3rd floor. And if that police officer had not fired and stopped the onslaught…in the Speaker’s lobby, they would’ve cut off our escape route. They would’ve had us upstairs, and I have no doubt that some of us who look like me would’ve been hanging from the railings of the 3rd floor, onto the House floor, swinging like…strange fruit. We would’ve been swinging from those railings.”
“And I tell you, that’s how close it came,” he added.
In response to Al asking how many congresspeople were there, Hank kept things clear: The breachers were in business to murder by rope.
“[There were] somewhere between 30 and 40 (members of Congress). They could’ve had their pick of who they wanted to make an example of. And they came to the Capitol to do business. And the business that they were about was to lynch some people.”
Hank said Sharpton knows how it goes:
“They talk about Mike Pence, they talk about Nancy Pelosi, but you and I know, Reverend Al, that one of us would’ve been hanging with them.”
Al’s aware:
“Clearly, you don’t bring a noose and weapons if you didn’t mean business.”
Hank’s not the only one to connect dots between the riot and racism.
As I covered previously, Nancy Pelosi claims those in revolt chose their “whiteness over democracy.”
And president-elect Joe Biden characterized the craze with a colorful tint:
“You can’t tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesters yesterday they wouldn’t have been treated very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. We all know that is true. And it is totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. The American people saw it in plain view.”
As for Hank, he’s hit some headlines as of late.
His comment on Guam has recently resurfaced:
#FlashbackFriday 👉🏻 Democrat Congressman Hank Johnson feared the island of Guam would tip over if too many people were on one side. pic.twitter.com/TGKvC5uCfD
— Cari Kelemen (@KelemenCari) August 11, 2017
And some have referenced a 2016 remark on Israel:
“There has been a steady [stream], almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that you’ve been eaten up, and you fall in on yourself, there has been settlement activity that has marched forward with impunity and at an ever-increasing rate, to the point where it has become alarming. The fact is the Israeli government, which is the most right-wing government ever to exist in the state of Israel in its history, the most right wing government, you got a guy like Trump who is now the minister of defense in Israel calling the shots on defense.”
Critics found “termite” reminiscent of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan:
Fox Soul channel has canceled a Fourth of July program featuring Louis Farrakhan after an outcry due to his notorious anti-Semitism: “He has called Jews ‘termites’ and the #LGBTQ+ community ‘degenerates.’ He deserves condemnation, not exposure.” https://t.co/I7LObz9Wfv
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) July 2, 2020
Amid the American discussion, there’s been plenty talk of pigment and parentage to go around.
If the last 5 years is any indication, I’d say put away your innocence — plan on a 2021 that’s radically Rated-R.
And we all know what that stands for.
-ALEX
See more pieces from me:
Nancy Pelosi Cuts to the Chase on What the Capitol Riot Was All About
You Won’t Believe This Watch Company’s Political Ad
Find all my RedState work here.
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