As impeachment trial starts, Marjorie Taylor Greene rips Capitol rioters who 'ruined' objection plans

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene denounced the Capitol rioters Tuesday and said they were attacking all lawmakers -- Republicans and Democrats -- when they stormed the Capitol during the Jan. 6 joint session to count electoral votes.

"The attack RUINED our objection that we spent weeks preparing for, which devastated our efforts on behalf of Trump and his voters," Greene, R-Ga., said in a tweet. 

She continued: "They placed pipe bombs at the RNC and the DNC the night before. They did NOT just target one party. They targeted Republicans and Democrats. They were against the government ALL together."

Greene also said she was "very upset, scared, and terrified for ALL of us" during the riot and said she "made a video telling people to stop and they should protest peacefully."

TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

"I will be forever grateful to my Republican colleagues who bravely helped the police protect us and blocked the door," Greene continued. "They courageously risked their lives against the attackers trying to get in."

She added that the former president is "the victim of the never ending hate fueled witch hunt."

But some of the actions of the rioters indicate that they were not in fact targeting lawmakers they viewed as allies, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Video published by the New Yorker showed rioters rifling through Cruz's papers before concluding, "This is a good one. I think Cruz would want us to do this, so I think we're good." They also said, "he's with us."

Cruz in many statements, however, has condemned the rioters. 

Greene also gave credence Tuesday to the false claims that the rioters in the Capitol were not Trump supporters -- they've been broadly shown to be right-wing Trump supporters in nearly every case as law enforcement has tracked down the rioters. 

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The pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol about one hour after the conclusion of Trump's rally on Jan. 6 during which he repeated false claims that he won the election and told his followers to go to the Capitol "peacefully and patriotically." Those who believe Trump's rally that day constituted impeachable conduct, however, say that one comment does not outweigh the balance of his remarks, in which he also told followers that if they don't "fight back," they won't "have a country anymore."

Trump's legal team claims that the use of the word "fight" was figurative and meant to mean political action on election security. 

Greene has been a lightning rod for controversy as she's maintained her reputation as a bomb-thrower while also distancing herself from some of her most radical past statements. She repudiated QAnon after previously flirting with the conspiracy theory; reaffirmed that 9/11 happened after previously expressing doubt about it; and apologized to her House Republican colleagues last week for those comments and others, including some apparently supporting violence against Democrats, from before she was elected. 

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The Republican Party has experienced a handful of internal skirmishes, which played out last week. There was a full House vote stripping Greene -- one of the faces of the pro-Trump wing of the GOP -- of her committee assignments. Eleven Republicans joined all Democrats on that vote. Meanwhile, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., survived a 145-61 vote to remove her as the GOP conference chair after she voted to impeach Trump. 

Similar divides in the Senate will be closely watched during Trump's impeachment trial, with a handful of Republicans considered potential votes to convict the former president while the vast majority of the GOP is expected to side with Trump's lawyers, who called the trial "political theater."

"This impeachment trial a circus for the Democrat media mob to entertain the masses that they have brainwashed and addicted to hate, so they don’t see the Dem policies being rapidly forced into place that are destroying our lives, stealing our freedoms, and putting America last," Greene tweeted Tuesday.