Michigan Senate majority leader Mike Shirkey said in a recent conversation that “Trump people” were not responsible for the US Capitol riot and that they “wanted a mess” before the violence.
Shirkey’s comments were recorded in a video posted on YouTube after he met with members of the Hillsdale County Republican Party. The local GOP group later voted to censor him for not supporting former President Donald Trump enough and for not standing up to Governor Gretchen Whitmer regarding the Second Amendment and COVID-19 restrictions.
The conversation began as a meeting about his impending censure, but he turned his attention to the Capitol riot. When asked “What about the DC thing?” Shirkey called this a “farce from the first day”.
“Why was there no more security?” Asked Shirkey. “It was ridiculous. It was all staged.”
Shirkey called Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, DC, a “puppet” and blamed Senator Mitch McConnell for being “part of that” because he said he was involved in the security decision-making process.
“I think they wanted to mess up,” said Shirkey, adding that the “mess” was partly attributable to people who were recruited to participate and those who were “caught” by the thrill of being in a crowd.
“He’s crazy. I’ve known him for over 10 years and what I saw in that video is not the guy I knew,” said Jeff Timmer, former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party and senior advisor to the Lincoln Project. Newsweek. “We are seeing this guy’s unfiltered view … He’s inadequate to lead the Michigan Senate.
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In the wake of the riot, McConnell, a staunch ally of the former president, placed the blame on Trump, saying he “provoked” people who wanted to overturn President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. He added that they were “fed with lies” and called for an investigation into Capitol security.
“Yesterday’s final blame lies with the unbalanced criminals who broke down doors, stomped on our country’s flag, fought with law enforcement and tried to disrupt our democracy, and with those who incited them. Addressing the shocking flaws in posture and security protocols of Capitol, “McConnell said in a statement.
Newsweek contacted Shirkey and McConnell for comment, but received no response in time for publication.
Michigan’s Republican leader is not the first to question whether members of Congress played a role in the turmoil, but there was no credible evidence to support speculation.
In January, more than 30 Democratic members of Congress signed a letter to Timothy Blodgett, the House’s interim weapons sergeant, and Jennifer Hemmingway, the Senate’s interim weapons sergeant, requesting an investigation into “suspicious behavior and access granted to visitors” the day before. of the turmoil.
“There were unusually large groups of people across the Capitol that could only have been granted access to the Capitol Complex by a member of Congress or a member of their staff,” the letter said. “The members of the group that attacked the Capitol appeared to have unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex.”
The Capitol riot took the lives of at least five people, including police officer Brian Sicknick, and is the basis for Trump’s second historic impeachment. On Tuesday, House impeachment administrators used images of the riot to defend the Senate’s condemnation of Trump.
At least one rowdy, Jake Angeli, also known as “QAnon Shaman”, offered to testify at Trump’s trial on how the former president incited violence.
More than 100 people face riot-related charges, and a “top priority” for law enforcement is determining whether there has been an “organized” mission within Capitol Hill, according to District Attorney Michael Sherwin. However, so far, there has been no evidence from outside groups, such as Antifa, fueling the riot.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who was in the Chamber of Deputies when the riot broke out, told Shirkey in a tweet that published an article from Detroit News that she heard the shot that killed Ashli Babbitt.
“They came to kidnap and kill lawmakers,” Dingell posted on Twitter. “It wasn’t a joke, it was life or death.”