Sen. Ron Johnson.Photo: GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty
“Even though those thousands of people that were marching to the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote,” Johnsonsaidon the conservative talk radioJoe Pags Showlast weekend, “I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, and so I wasn’t concerned.”
Johnson, 65, continued: “Now, had the tables been turned — Joe, this could get me in trouble — had the tables been turned, and President [Donald] Trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned.”
Almost immediately, Wisconsin Democrats began criticizing Johnson, a longtimeTrumpally, for the remarks.
“For him to say something as racist as that — it’s ridiculous,” the state lawmaker said. “It’s a totally racist comment and the insult to injury is he didn’t mind saying it in the position that he holds because for some reason that’s just deemed as acceptable behavior for people who live in and are elected officials in this state.”
Alex Lasry, an executive with the Milwaukee Bucks who recentlyannounced a 2022 runfor Johnson’s seat in the Senate, said the Republican is “a racist and is unfit to serve the people of Wisconsin.”
“There is no missing context here,” Lasry added in atweet. “He knew what he was saying, he knew he shouldn’t say it, but this is who he is.”
A spokesperson for Johnson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“This is where the Republican party has gone,” Jayapal told CNN. “They are clearly embracing racist ideologies, white supremacist groups, and not afraid — completely emboldened — to say that out loud, in public.”
Asked if she thought Johnson himself was racist, Jayapal said, “certainly from that statement, he appears to be.”
The events of Jan. 6 unfolded after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the federal building during a joint session of Congress, after the former president’s directed them to head to the Capitol building and “fight like hell” to overturn his election loss.
Lawmakers — including Republicans — were forced to evacuate the building during the riots and five people died.
Amid the chaos, which caused the building to go into a lockdown, numerous politicians such as former Vice PresidentMike Pencecondemned the riotous actand urged Trump to speak out against the mounting violence.
Trump initially held off on condemning the violence, tweeting, “These are the things and events that happen. … Remember this day forever!” He latertweeted a video to the riotersin which he called them “very special” and told them to go home.
Trump has since said his actions that day were “totally appropriate” and, like Johnson, attempted to compare the events to theBlack Lives Matter proteststhat took place in response to a slew of widely-reported police-involved shootings of unarmed Black people.
source: people.com
