Rep. Matt Gaetz Blames Antifa For Pro-Trump Protests In The Capitol
On Jan. 6, President Donald Trump supporters broke into the Capitol in a bid to block the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win in the Nov. election. According to U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, the president hasn't decided to resign or avoid making public appearances following the riot.
During an appearance on Fox Report Weekend, Gaetz told host Jon Scott that Trump is still the leader of Americans who believes the country's best days are still ahead. These people, Gaetz added, support law enforcement and need to fight against the radical left-wing agenda that it appears that Biden plans to lead in with combined control over the government, with the House and the Senate.
Gaetz described the outgoing president as the world's most powerful and the most influential Republican. He went on to say that even after leaving office, Trump will continue to influence matters that are crucial to those who voted for him, and those who believe the 2020 presidential election deserves scrutiny.
Shortly after a violent mob broke into the Capitol on Thursday, Gaetz slammed the perpetrators. However, he did not blame pro-Trump supporters. Instead, Gaetz said that members of Antifa had secretly got into the group to create the chaos.
Gaetz said he does not know if the widely contested article, which was published by the Washington Times, is true, but insisted that some of the people who swarmed into the Capitol were not Trump supporters. He insisted that most of the people who breached the Capitol were members of the Antifa.
It is worth mentioning here that many pro-Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol openly spoke about their involvement, live streaming as they bashed the Capitol's doors and windows. In addition to Gaetz, several TV stations leaning towards conservative, as well as some right-wing figures, made similar claims about far-left activists causing the riots, as The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr reported.
Trump and his allies in the White House have repeatedly blamed Antifa, something that the FBI describes as mere ideology. The president has long sought to blame it for any violence linked to protests, but there has been no evidence to support these claims.
Following the Capitol breach, conspiracy theories suggesting that the operation was carried out by left-wing activists who then blamed Trump supporters began doing the rounds online. Representative Paul A. Gosar took to his Twitter account to point fingers, claiming the Capitol breach had all the trademarks of Antifa provocation.