A freshman congresswoman who has previously expressed support for the false and fringe QAnon conspiracy theory attacked Democrats during a recent Fox News appearance and claimed they were “obsessed” with conspiracies following the Capitol insurrection.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Co) joined Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro on Saturday night to lambast House leadership and security officials over continued safety measures at the Capitol building in the wake of the attacks on 6 January, when pro-Trump extremists stormed the building. Intelligence agencies and local officials have warned of continued threats to the area from groups behind the Capitol insurrection, including the far-right Proud Boys and supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
“No one on the outside can get into the Capitol,” the lawmaker said. “It is only staffers and members of Congress who are allowed at the people’s house – at our nation’s Capitol.”
“Judge Jeanine, this is complete bonkers that we are keeping people out the United States Capitol,” she continued. “There is clearly not a threat, there was nothing that happened on March 4th, the Democrats are obsessed with conspiracy theories – and they won’t let them go.”
Ms Boebert did not discuss her own connection to baseless conspiracies like QAnon, the debunked and imaginative theory that former President Donald Trump was saving the world from an evil ring of child sex predators.
The congresswoman faced calls to resign after the Capitol insurrection, with a local Colorado activist group releasing a statement saying she “betrayed the American people” as she tweeted about where Speaker Nancy Pelosi was amid the riots.
Several who stormed the Capitol could be heard searching for the Democratic leader, as Ms Boebert tweeted out messages that read: “Speaker has been removed from the chambers.”
The group wrote in its statement: “As the citizens she represents in Congress, we cannot recall her and we cannot impeach her, but we do not accept that she is fit to represent the people of Colorado District 3 in Congress. We can only hope that her colleagues in Congress expel her.”
However, Ms Boebert continued to slam the Democratic Party during her Fox News interview, as critics noted the “irony” in her comments.
“We have a border fence around the people’s house, with miles of razor wire,” she said. “And Speaker Pelosi wants to keep it up.”
Ms Pelosi has in fact expressed support for taking down the security measures around the Capitol, saying it should be done at the “appropriate” time in news conferences and when officials believe they are prepared.
The Speaker does not have ultimate authority on what security measures can go up around the building, as the US Capitol Police and other various agencies also have a say in the matter.
