Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said on Thursday that the January 6 insurrection was “made up,” claiming that the event was “staged” by those who opposed President Donald Trump. 

Norman was asked by press about the Department of Justice’s new $1.776 billion fund set up as part of a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the 2019 leak of his tax returns. The Department claimed the fund was meant “for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” leading many to question whether Jan. 6 rioters could receive money through the fund.

When pressed on this possibility, Norman claimed that the insurrection had not taken place in the way it remembered, seen on video, and spoken about by those who saw or actively took part in the riot.

NORMAN: Look, January 6th was an issue that was made up in the first place.

REPORTER: Made up, sir?

NORMAN: That was a staged thing from day one.

REPORTER: The riot was staged?

NORMAN: When you had police officers letting people in the building, when you had people that’s not being prosecuted– Ray, I forget his name. There’s no excuse for that.

REPORTER: Your colleagues, though, your Republican colleagues ran for their life and barricaded themselves in their chamber. You think they were acting?

NORMAN: No, there was a riot there but it was a self made riot by members who hate Trump. It was made up, in my opinion.

More than 140 police officers were injured on January 6, including sustaining traumatic brain injuries and other lasting ailments. The attack caused approximately $3 million in damage to the Capitol. Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants and prisoners– commuting the sentences of 8 more– in the first month of his second term, many of whom have gone on to commit serious crimes.

Conspiracy theories that the mob that attacked the Capitol was engineered in some way, or was the act of far-left actors, have been widely debunked by a swath of sources– including the rioters themselves. An investigation by NPR titled, “Antifa Didn’t Storm The Capitol. Just Ask The Rioters,” reported that Rep. Norman’s type of claims actually seemed to infuriate those who were actually charged with crimes committed on January 6.

“Don’t you dare try to tell me that people are blaming this on antifa and BLM,” Jonathan Gennaro Mellis, who was charged with assault for allegedly trying to harm police officers, wrote on Facebook. “We proudly take responsibility for storming the Castle.”

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