‘I have concerns about the treatment of January 6th hostages,’ the New York lawmaker said, just days after Mr Trump used the same term

New York Republican Rep Elise Stefanik is under fire from Democrats for labelling January 6 prisoners “hostages,” echoing Donald Trump.

Ahead of the third anniversary of the Capitol riot, in a campaign speech in Sioux Center, Iowa, Mr Trump referred to individuals arrested and charged in connection to the Capitol attack as “J6 hostages.” He claimed, “Nobody’s been treated ever in history so badly as those people.”

On Sunday, Congresswoman Stefanik used the same language on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” She said, “I have concerns about the treatment of January 6th hostages.”

In response, high-profile figures in politics denounced her remarks.

    • ZeroCool@slrpnk.net
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      6 months ago

      DeSantis, Haley + the rest of the field running “totally serious” campaigns for the republican Presidential nomination are gonna be so mad when they find out Elise Stefanik is trying to side step the audition process like this. Doesn’t she know how much time and money they’ve spent putting on a show for Papa Trump to earn the VP spot?! It’s not fair!

  • Facebones@reddthat.com
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    6 months ago

    Anyone who participated in J6 should have faced wartime charges, and anybody who refers to them as hostages should be arrested as enemy combatants.

    They want to play war, time to start treating them like it. But nooooo we can’t hurt the insurrectionist faschies feelings… 🙄

    • TechyDad@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I don’t live in Stefanik’s district, but I’m close enough to get her campaign ads. Political ad season is bad enough, but her ads are always especially awful.

      And the worst part? She’s not a True Believer. Early on, she was a more conventional Republican. However, then she saw where the wind was blowing and went full MAGA. Everything she does is done in an effort to gain power for herself. She has no beliefs of her own beyond “gimme power!”

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    New York Republican Rep Elise Stefanik is under fire from Democrats for labelling January 6 prisoners “hostages,” echoing Donald Trump.

    Maryland Rep Jamie Raskin, who sat on the House select committee investigating January 6, wrote on X: “People convicted of violently assaulting police officers and conspiring to overthrow the government are not ‘hostages.’”

    California Congressman Eric Swalwell also chimed in: “How sick that as real American hostages are held in Gaza, Stefanik puts January 6 terrorists in the same category.”

    Former White House official David Axelrod also commented, “Once a thoughtful center right Rep., she read the prevailing winds within the[GOP] and went full Trumpee & enthusiastic pervayer [sic] of falsehoods & conspiracy theories.”

    When host Kristen Welker asked if that meant she wouldn’t confirm the results unless Mr Trump won, the Republican lawmaker clarified: “No, it means if they’re constitutional.

    Welker also asked Ms Stefanik if she was “comfortable” with Mr Trump’s Hitler-like comments in recent months, such as when he claimed that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of the country.” She replied, “We have the media which is so biased, which is reiterating whatever the talking points the Biden campaign is giving.”


    The original article contains 508 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!