As Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert captures the nation’s attention in the wake of last week’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which critics allege she helped incite, it’s worth looking back to Boebert’s response to an event that can be seen as the canary in the coal mine for the Jan. 6 attack: this summer’s armed protest at the Michigan State Capitol.
On April 30, protesters angered by COVID-19 orders swarmed the Michigan Capitol, many of them heavily-armed militia members, eventually entering the building and attempting to gain access to the House floor. The FBI later uncovered a domestic terror plot from some of the protesters to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and “take hostages, execute tyrants and have it televised” during their attempted Capitol siege.
When asked whether she thought the protester’s actions were appropriate in an early May interview following the event with RealVail.com’s David O. Williams, Boebert voiced support, saying she “didn’t see that happen” but questioning why heavily armed protesters weren’t allowed on the House floor.
“I don’t see why they’re not allowed to,” Boebert said. “Denver, you can’t open carry in Denver, but right there at our Capitol doors, there’s metal detectors so the public can’t go in there with their firearm. However, even that is a violation of the way the laws read — whenever you are going to restrict law-abiding citizens to come into a public building like that with a firearm.”
Asked again by Williams if she took issue with armed protesters intimidating lawmakers over stay-at-home orders, Boebert then explained her interpretation of the Second Amendment: “I don’t use my Second Amendment rights to intimidate others. It is for my protection and it is a protection against a tyrannical government, and so I don’t see that we would ever have to use our Second Amendment rights against our government, but that is what it’s for. It’s not for hunting. It’s not for target shooting or for sport.” (CTR emphasis)
Boebert, whose ties to right-wing militias and gun extremists have been thoroughly documented, tweeted “I am the militia” the following month.
She reiterated her position on the purpose of the Second Amendment in an interview with Breitbart last month, saying that “the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting, except hunting tyrants, maybe.”
Some Michigan lawmakers spoke out following the Jan. 6 insurrection, saying they weren’t surprised after the events that transpired at their state’s Capitol over the summer and that those events could have inspired the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, Slate reports.
Days after she was sworn into Congress, many are calling for Boebert’s removal, alleging that she helped incite the insurrection after weeks of parroting conspiracies about election fraud.
On the morning of the attack, Boebert tweeted “Today is 1776” before objecting to the certification of the Presidential election results and saying, “I have constituents outside this building right now and I promised to be their voice” during her House floor speech just before the mob began to invade the building.
Boebert has also been under fire for tweeting U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s whereabouts in the Capitol during the siege, causing some to allege that she was directing the mob to Pelosi.
Yesterday, Boebert clashed with Capitol Police after setting off newly installed metal detectors, refusing to let them look through her purse. The detectors were installed due to members like Boebert pushing to carry firearms on the House floor.
