Matt Gaetz confident that he will be vindicated for supporting far-right allegation of FBI “role” 1/6

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Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz said he was convinced he would be justified in supporting the far-right claim that the FBI helped prepare for the Jan.6, 2021 insurgency on Capitol Hill after infiltrating extreme right-wing groups.

In a Gettr message posted Wednesday night, Gaetz posted a screenshot of a CNN show. The show showed it alongside other lawmakers who pushed for the same far-right claim, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.

“Save this for when the full extent of the federal government’s role in J6 is exposed,” Gaetz wrote.

One of the first times Gaetz publicly pushed the conspiracy theory was when he appeared on the June 18, 2021 episode of Cortes & Pellegrino, a talk show on the right-wing Newsmax network.

On the show, he said the FBI infiltrated groups whose members were arrested for allegedly participating in the riots, groups such as the Oath Keepers. The FBI did this, Gaetz said, “to bring this organization to the point of criminal conduct as a mechanism to try to bring it down.”

“There has been an FBI infiltration into these groups, and what we have to decide is whether this infiltration led to more serious criminal conduct than it would otherwise have been,” he said. declared.

“The FBI has a long history of this, even dating back to the civil rights era,” he added, “and I certainly hope our main law enforcement organization isn’t really working on it. violate federal law. “

“I was called a conspiracy theorist just for asking these questions, but whether it was the Russian hoax that was absurd or the origins of the coronavirus at the Wuhan lab, I have a pretty good track record of being right when I make statements.

The conspiracy theory was also pushed by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz exuded confidence that he would be justified in supporting the far-right claim that the FBI played a role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurgency on the U.S. Capitol. United. In this photo, Gaetz speaks to the media after a congressional committee votes to approve two articles of impeachment against then-President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill on December 13, 2019, in Washington, DC Mark Wilson / Getty

Gaetz also pushed the theory once again on the recent anniversary of the riots.

“We know that January 6 last year was not an insurgency,” he said. “No one has been charged with insurgency. No one has been charged with treason, but it may very well be an uprising by the Fed.”

Most of the suspected rioters on Capitol Hill have been charged with trespassing, assault and obstructing congressional proceedings. They were not charged with insurgency or treason because such charges require prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they intended to overthrow the government or harm the country, Josh said. Blackman, professor of constitutional law at South Texas College of Law. -TV.

The basis of Gaetz’s conspiracy charge was a video of ex-Marine Ray Epps telling people to “enter the Capitol.” Conspiracy theorists alleged that Epps was an FBI informant. Gaetz and Greene said Epps would have been removed from the FBI’s Most Wanted List on Capitol Hill, even though he has not been charged with a felony.

No evidence has linked Epps to the FBI, The New York Times reported.

Gaetz also said that another video captured an individual cutting through a chain link fence to help rioters gain access to restricted areas of the Capitol. He claimed that the individual had also not been wanted by federal judicial authorities.

Gaetz said he and Greene sent letters to the FBI and the Justice Department inquiring about Epps and the fence tailor. Lawmakers received no response from either agency.

Gaetz and Greene both argue that the arrested rioters were just protesters who were prosecuted for their conservative political beliefs.

Gaetz is currently the subject of an FBI investigation into allegations he broke sex trafficking laws and paid a 17-year-old to have sex with him. Gaetz has denied the allegations and has not been charged.

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