Dems target MAGA lawmakers who openly 'boast' about their role in the 'Jan. 6 insurrection': report

Almost three years have passed since the January 6, 2021 insurrection, which found a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol Building in the hope of keeping him in office.

Since then, many of the rioters have faced felony or misdemeanor charges. And two of the four criminal indictments Trump is facing are connected to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Trump, Democrats have been warning, is likely to pardon a long list of January 6 offenders if he wins the 2024 GOP nomination and defeats incumbent President Joe Biden in the general election. And Democrats have been slamming Republican candidates who took part in "Stop the Steal" activities that day — even if they didn't actually enter the Capitol.

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But in a report published on December 28, the Daily Beast's Jake Lahut notes that among MAGA Republicans, "being in Washington on January 6, 2021, is far from a mark on a candidate's record — it's more like a credential."

"Among GOP state lawmakers," Lahut explains, "plenty today can boast that they participated in January 6 events. And boast they do. Michigan State Rep. Angela Rigas described being on the Capitol grounds that day as a 'highlight of my life.' David Eastman, an Alaska state representative, called it 'an immense privilege' to be in Washington for Trump's last-ditch effort to stay in power. And for the true MAGA climbers, like Arizona State Sen. Anthony Kern, moving past police barricades at the Capitol and allegedly using campaign funds to attend the insurrection were far from career-ending scandals."

Lahut elaborates, "In fact, a little J6 cred, it turns out, can go a long way; Kern recently announced a 2024 congressional bid. Nearly three years on, the January 6 insurrection and Trump's efforts at thwarting the peaceful transfer of power remain deeply entrenched in the GOP — not just in Trumpworld or at the national level, but all the way down to the state houses where future results could be challenged in a repeat scenario of 2020."

According to Lahut, the January 6 insurrection is still "deeply entrenched in the GOP" — a fact that isn't lost on the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC).

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The DLCC, Lahut reports, has shared a "new tally" exclusively with the Daily Beast — and it shows that "there are still 15 state lawmakers serving in office or about to be sworn in who traveled to D.C. for January 6 activities."

"In total," Lahut explains, "the DLCC identified 59 Republicans in Washington on the 6th who either ended up in state elected office or eventually launched a campaign for one. And some of the more prominent names on the list show how the biggest proponents of Trump's efforts to subvert the peaceful transition aren’t going away anytime soon. The list includes Texas State Sen. Angela Paxton, the wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano…. One of the most prominent January 6 attendees, of course, is current member of Congress Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)."

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Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).