Trump Hugging Riot Suspect Shows He’s a ‘Proud Insurrectionist’: Kirschner

[ad_1]

Former President Donald Trump flaunted his status as a “proud insurrectionist” by hugging a convicted rioter on Jan. 6, according to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner.

Trump hugged Micki Larson-Olson, who was sentenced to 180 days in jail last year after being convicted of resisting police orders during the siege of the US Capitol, during a campaign stop in Manchester on Thursday, according to The Washington Post.

The former president repeatedly praised the January 6 rioters, fueled largely by his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him, in the years since he left the place He suggested that “full pardons” could be granted to the rioters if his 2024 bid to return to the White House is successful.

“Listen, just hang in there,” Trump reportedly told Larson-Olson during their encounter Thursday. “You’ll be fine too.”

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday was pictured with his fist in the air during a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire. Legal analyst Glenn Kirschner accused Trump of being a “proud insurrectionist” after reports the former president hugged a convicted rioter on Jan. 6 during his visit to the Granite State. Spencer Platt

Larson-Olson gushed and said, “I can’t tell you how much that means to me,” after Trump signed a backpack he brought to the Capitol, the Post reported. The former president was said to be sad that the rioter “has been through too much” but insisted that he will “stop being happy.”

Kirschner, a frequent Trump critic and part-time legal analyst for MSNBC, said on the latest episode of his Justice Matters podcast on Friday that the exchange was evidence that Trump violated federal law.

“Donald Trump is not just an insurgent—he is an unrepentant, unforgiving, arrogant insurgent,” Kirschner said, before citing a federal law that mandates a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a prohibition from holding public office for anyone who incites, engages or “gives aid or comfort” to a rebellion or insurrection.

“Donald Trump gives aid and solace to insurrection and insurrections,” Kirschner added. “He’s celebrating them and their January 6 accomplishments. He’s congratulating them, he’s promising to pardon them.”

Kirschner went on to say that Trump “remains an insurrectionist and he must be held accountable.”

Newsweek reached out via email to Trump’s office for comment.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung previously denounced Kirschner in a statement to Newsweek, saying the legal analyst is “a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis” who is “shunned by the legal community all in all.”

On January 6, 2021, according to the Department of Justice, a Captain America costumed Larson-Olson swore at police and accused them of being “traitors” while participating in a riot at the Capitol. Six officers were forced to “physically carry him” as he “screamed and fought them.”

Larson-Olson told NBC News on Friday that she considers Trump the “real president” and said her “only regret” is that she wasn’t “stronger” so she could have fought the officials longer.

He also called for the impeachment of former Vice President Mike Pence and “every” member of Congress who voted to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

“The penalty for treason is death, according to the Constitution,” Larson-Olson said, adding that she “would like a front seat Mike Pence to be killed.”

[ad_2]