According to Ryan O’Toole, a staffer for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and formerly a staffer for Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), there were some members of the House of Representatives “cheering on” the interruption caused by the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, and among them was Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL).
During an appearance on CNN on Thursday, O’Toole recounted his U.S. Capitol experience that day during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
O’Toole described a “range of emotions” in the early moments of the January 6 Capitol riot. He said some members were “fearful.”
However, he had also said that was not the case with Brooks.
“The sequence of events had a range of emotions to it,” O’Toole said. “When we were still on the floor, members were fearful for their lives — Republican members themselves, men crying in the cloakroom for their safety. As we escaped the chamber to what sounded like gunshots, to the secure location — I think people were still scared. Members and staff were still scared, not sure what was happening. And so, you did have some members express a different view. One member, Mo Brooks, for example, was glad. He was cheering on the fact the 117th Congress had started this way.”
“That was much to the dismay of others in the room, and certainly, I think, does not carry the sentiment that the day has today,” he added.
In a statement given to Breitbart News late Thursday, Brooks, also a candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama, called O’Toole’s claim an “egregious lie” and referred to O’Toole as a “dishonorable gutter rat.”
Statement as follows:
“This accusation is despicable and total, utter and complete, unadulterated bovine excrement.”
“In direct conflict with this egregious lie, I have made MANY public statements calling for prosecution of those who, on January 6, violated the law. If my memory serves correctly, my first such statement was on January 6, the very day the attack occurred.”
“Once I learned of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, my reaction was one of frustration and anger (again, as I have publicly stated on many occasions), in part, because the Capitol attack and the publicity surrounding it totally undermined and destroyed almost two months of work collecting and presenting evidence of voter fraud and election theft presented in the House chamber on January 6. Not even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have written a script that would have better served the cause of the Socialists’ march on America.”
“For clarity, I was escorted from the Capitol with other Congressmen during what I later discovered was an attack on the Capitol and said little or nothing while being escorted. As a consequence of my being targeted for assassination during the attack at the baseball field, I was alert and watching and listening for danger. Being removed from the Capitol is a serious matter. There was zero “cheering” by any Congressmen in my presence.”
“Upon being sequestered with other Congressmen away from the Capitol, NO ONE cheered about anything. As best I could discern, all of us were either angry, bewildered and/or frustrated that people would attack the U.S. Capitol during such an important debate on voter fraud and election theft.”
“This political attack is yet another example of how dishonest and untrustworthy so many people are on Capitol Hill. It should be a place of truth, honor, and vigorous public policy debate. But far too often it is a snake pit full of vipers and rattlesnakes. One can’t help but wonder how much this lie is motivated by the desire to help a special interest group RINO win Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat.”“I hope there is video of whatever this liar is talking about because, if there is, it will prove him to be a dishonorable gutter rat.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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