New Video Shows Josh Hawley Reaping What He Sowed, Running From Jan 6 Rioters

During Thursday night’s Jan. 6 House select committee hearing, committee members took a few moments to give us all the gift of humiliating Josh Hawley, just straight-up annihilating him into inept dust.

Josh Hawley played no small role in driving the events of January 6. He led the charge to refuse to certify Joe Biden’s electoral votes, giving congressional legitimacy to the baseless claims that the election had been “rigged.” And, of course, on the morning of the riot, he gave an infamous fist pump to protesters—some of whom would then go on to violently storm the Capitol.

Hawley never showed any regret or remorse for encouraging the rioters. In fact, he was so proud of that moment, he used it to fundraise and even went on to put the image on merch, stealing the work of the photographer who took the now infamously iconic picture in the process. He’s also tepidly condemned violence (which Republicans have consistently downplayed) while praising the January 6 protesters, even going so far as to claim the word “rioter,” as applied to this group, is a “slur.”

Well, Thursday night, the committee proved that Hawley wasn’t always so supportive of these demonstrators. A clip from security footage shows Hawley running away—fleeing—as his beloved “demonstrators” breach the Capitol.

There was reportedly “an eruption of laughter” inside the chamber when the footage was shown and the internet is, of course, having a field day.

Maybe you can try to argue that Hawley really didn’t expect the protesters he cheered to go on to threaten his safety with their violent rioting. But remember, Hawley felt he was in serious enough danger to flee, and then after that, he came back and still voted not to certify the election. And after that, he made merch celebrating his encouragement of the riot.

We’ve always known Josh Hawley doesn’t actually have any convictions and that he doesn’t believe in the things he says and does, but it’s nice to have video confirmation.

(image: Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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