‘Pumped My Fist To Them’: Hawley Does Not Regret Supporting Capitol Protesters

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) does not regret showing his support for protesters at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

“When I walked by that particular group of folks who were standing there peacefully behind police barricades, well off of the plaza, and I waved to them, gave them the thumbs up, pumped my fist to them, and thanked them for being there. They had every right to do that,” Hawley said during an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday.

When asked if he regrets his actions, Hawley said, “No because I don’t know which of those protesters, if any of them… participated in the criminal riot and I think it’s a slur on the thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of people who came to the Capitol that day to demonstrate peacefully and to lump them in with the criminal rioters.”

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The Republican senator mentioned Black Lives Matter protests that occurred in the summer of 2020 and argued, “Throughout all last summer, we heard over and over it’s important to distinguish between the peaceful protesters and the BLM protests and the rioters.”

He added, “I agreed with that then, I said that then, I think the same is true of those on January 6. The tens of thousands of folks who came to D.C., the overwhelming majority of whom were peaceful.”

Hawley announced in December of 2020 he would be objecting to the Electoral College certification of President Joe Biden’s win, as IJR previously reported.

“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws,” Hawley said in a statement.

He later defended his decision in an op-ed published in the Southeast Missourian, “Some wondered why I stuck with my objection following the violence at the Capitol. The reason is simple: I will not bow to a lawless mob, or allow criminals to drown out the legitimate concerns of my constituents.”

Hawley faced criticism from Republican leaders for his actions and rhetoric leading up to the insurrection.