Far-right MAGA congressman claims Pence 'wasn’t really in peril' on Jan. 6

04 October 2024

In a 165-page legal brief unsealed by Judge Tanya Chutkan in early October, special counsel Jack Smith makes a comprehensive, highly detailed case for moving forward with his election interference indictment against former President Donald Trump.

One of the many things Smith addresses in the document is the danger that then-Vice President Mike Pence faced when Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in the hope of preventing Congress from certifying now-President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.

Outside the Capitol, some Trump supporters set up a hangman's gallows and were chanting, "Hang Mike Pence." But Trump, according to Smith's brief, allegedly said, "So what?" when he heard that Pence had been taken to a secured location.

During a Thursday, October 3 appearance on CNN, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Florida) — a Trump ally and far-right MAGA Republican — downplayed the threat that Pence faced on January 6, 2021 and claimed that he "wasn't really in peril."

CNN's Manu Raju asked Mast, "What is your response to the president's apparent reaction to his then-vice president's life being in danger?" And Mast responded, "I don't think… that should be categorized as anything other than hyperbole right there."

The MAGA congressman said of Pence, "He has Secret Service protection. Now, at that time, we thought that Secret Service protection was the gold standard of protection, and they would be keeping him safe. He was under protection, OK. He's being brought to a secure facility, OK. That's something that's being done. It doesn't really require a great deal of thought. And he wasn't really in peril."

Raju wanted to know how Mast could say that Pence's life "wasn't really in peril" when Trump supporters were chanting, "Hang Mike Pence" outside the Capitol Building. And Mast doubled down on his claim, insisting, "His life wasn’t really in peril, he was protected by Secret Service."

Watch the full video at this link.

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