Several Republicans who won office on Tuesday attended the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C., although all have previously made it clear that they did not breach the U.S. Capitol.
Three officials were elected to state legislatures, and five won positions at the local level, per The Huffington Post. The two Republicans re-elected to the Virginia House of Delegates were Dave LaRock and John McGuire, who was photographed with men in paramilitary gear confronting police on Jan. 6, according to the report.
Additionally, Marie March won a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday. Natalie Jangula won a seat in Nampa, Idaho, Christine Ead won a seat in Watchung, New Jersey, and Susan Soloway won re-election to the Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Board of Directors, per the report. In Braintree, Massachusetts, former high school teacher Matthew Lynch won a seat on the local school committee. Each of these individuals made headlines for their attendance at the Jan. 6 rally.
According to the report, March bragged in a campaign advertisement about her attendance at the rally and warned in a now-deleted Facebook post of a “coming Civil War.”
After a photo emerged of him at the rally, Lynch resigned from his teaching job at Braintree High School, where he taught for more than 10 years. In his resignation letter, he cited his beliefs as the reason for this departure, Newsweek reports.
“Unfortunately as the times change and situations evolve, I can no longer be true to myself while service [sic] the role as a Braintree Public School Teacher,” Lynch wrote.
“My military experience as an Intelligence Analyst has given me unique perspective on what is currently going on in both our country and our town and I fear we are heading on a real collision course. I feel I need to make my voice heard in the town of Braintree but in doing so will have unintended side effects which will be completely unfair to my students,” he continued.
Former President Donald Trump instructed his supporters to “fight like hell” at a Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally that took place outside the White House. Afterward, hundreds of people breached the Capitol to oppose the certification of the electoral votes, theGrio reported.
Over 100 police officers were injured at the event and one, Brian Sicknick, 42, died after suffering two strokes following the insurrection.
Federal agents have tracked down and arrested more than 600 people across the United States believed to have joined in the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Getting those cases swiftly to trial is turning out to be an even more difficult task.
Investigators have collected a mountain of evidence in the attack and are working to organize it, and share it with defense attorneys. That mountain continues to grow with new arrests still happening practically every week.
Washington’s federal court, meanwhile, is clogged with Jan. 6 cases, which more than double the total number of new criminal cases filed there all of last year. Further complicating things are limitations the court has put on trials because of the coronavirus pandemic.
So far, only about 80 cases have been resolved by guilty pleas — largely by those who were charged only with misdemeanor offenses. Scores of others face serious felony charges including conspiracy, assaulting officers, and obstructing of an official proceeding that call for lengthy sentences behind bars.
The Justice Department called it the largest investigation in American history, with probes open in 55 out of 56 FBI field offices.
Per HuffPost, at least 57 state and local GOP officials attended the Jan. 6 rally, many of whom will be up for re-election next year.
Story & Photo Credit: Ny Magee/thegrio