'An endorsement of violence': Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Jan. 6 'joke' could land her before a 'grand jury'

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who previously defended Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, said Saturday that they would have "won" the attack on Congress had she been the ringleader.

Greene spoke Saturday at a dinner hosted by the New York Young Republican Club and claimed that she and former Trump campaign chairman Steve Bannon would have done a better job leading the mob that stormed the Capitol, according to CBS News.

"And I will tell you something, if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won," she said. "Not to mention, it would've been armed."

While Greene's past comments about overturning the results of the election received criticism, her latest threats of an armed uprising against the government have alarmed many.

CNN's John Avlon noted that the Georgia Republican's comments should send up red flags for investigators looking into the attack on the Capitol.

"What this congresswoman is saying is they were insufficiently armed, she was playing to the crowd but what she is saying is without accountability, failed insurrections are just practice," Avlon said.

"They would have succeeded and would have come armed -- that's a statement with real weight if you're a member of Congress. That's an endorsement of violence," he added.

CNN analyst Errol Louis suggested that Greene may have opened herself up to be subpoenaed.

"It would have been illegal to bring weapons into the district, as she no doubt knows," Louis said. "It's the kind of thing where, in the name of being cute in front of the donors or whatever group she's addressing, she could talk herself into a grand jury."

"This is not stuff to take lightly," he added. "This is a country on the edge in a lot of ways and if she really means this, she should repeat it under oath. I'd love to hear it."

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski also condemned the right-wing congresswoman's remarks.

"She brought up a number of topics, some of them very disgusting and pornographic, and then the topic of Jan. 6, and past accusations that she gave Capitol tours to Donald Trump's supporters in the days leading up to the insurrection," Brzezinski said.

Scarborough added that Greene would be working closely with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

"She is now one of Kevin McCarthy's most important allies in becoming speaker, and this is a woman who had said, you know, if she had been in charge of the Jan. 6 riots, they would have won, and they would have been armed," Scarborough said. "That's Kevin McCarthy's Republican Party."

White House spokesman Andrew Bates condemned Greene's comments.

"[It] goes against our fundamental values as a country for a Member of Congress to wish that the carnage of January 6th had been even worse, and to boast that she would have succeeded in an armed insurrection against the United States government," Bates told CBS. "This violent rhetoric is a slap in the face to the Capitol Police, the DC Metropolitan Police, the National Guard, and the families who lost loved ones as a result of the attack on the Capitol. All leaders have a responsibility to condemn these dangerous, abhorrent remarks and stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law."

In the past, Greene has sympathized with the Jan. 6 rioters saying: "I am one of those people. That's exactly who I am."

Her involvement in the insurrection has received backlash. Voters filed a lawsuit arguing she should have been "constitutionally disqualified from congressional office" because of her role in the Jan. 6 riot. But a judge ruled she qualified for reelection and Greene defeated her opponent in Georgia's 14th Congressional District in November.

Greene's Twitter has also been reinstated by Elon Musk after being banned for more than 10 months for "repeated violations" of the platform's COVID misinformation policies.