Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) stepped forward to set the record straight on the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, calling the deadly attack by a Trump mob an “insurrection against the Constitution,” after some GOP lawmakers this week sought to minimize the violence.
Romney’s remarks came as several Republicans, including Reps. Andrew Clyde (GA), Jody Hice Norman (GA), and Paul Gosar (AZ.) downplayed or made false claims about the violent attack.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Clyde asserted that a photo of individuals walking in Statuary Hall after breaching the Capitol looked like a “normal tourist visit,” despite some evidence showing rioters engaging in vandalism in violence elsewhere in the building.
Gosar declared that Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter who was shot by a Capitol Police after trying to breach the House chamber, was “executed” while also stressing that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of “natural causes.” Sicknick suffered two strokes while responding to the mob attack.
But Romney shot down those assertions as false, telling The Huffington Post that the Trump-fueled attack resulted in severe property damage and death.
“I was there,” Romney said. “What happened was a violent effort to interfere with and prevent the constitutional order of installing a new president.”
“As such, it was an insurrection against the Constitution that resulted in severe property damage, severe injuries and death,” he continued.
The Utah Senator was one of seven GOP senators to vote to convict former President Trump for inciting the insurrection. He was joined by GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Pat Toomey (Pa.), and Ben Sasse (Neb.).
