Sen. Ron Johnson.Photo: GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty
After facing Democratic backlash in his home state for saying hedidn’t feel threatenedduring the deadly U.S. Capitol riot but would have if the protestors had been Black Lives Matter supporters, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is not changing his mind.
Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer.
Johnson said he would have been troubled, however, if the rioters had been supporters of Black Lives Matter or antifa, a left-wing anti-fascist movement.
“Even though those thousands of people that were marching to the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote,” Johnsonsaidon the radio show. “I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, and so I wasn’t concerned.”
Johnson continued in that appearance: “Now, had the tables been turned — Joe, this could get me in trouble — had the tables been turned, and President[Donald] Trumpwon the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned.”
Though Johnson confirmed his initial words in theJournalcolumn, he maintained that those on the political left had “thoroughly twist[ed]” them and were playing “the race card.”
He went on to cite data from theArmed Conflict Location & Event Data Project(ACLED), which he said found that “570 leftist protests became riots last year,” in which 25 people lost their lives and 700 law enforcement officers were injured.
But Sam Jones, a spokesperson for ACLED, tells PEOPLE that the senator’s citation was “not an accurate portrayal of our findings.”
Democrats in Wisconsin, already mobilizing for next year’s election when Johnson is on the ballot, have been intensely critical of his remarks.
“For him to say something as racist as that — it’s ridiculous,” state Sen. LaTonya Johnson toldthe Associated Press. “It’s a totally racist comment and the insult to injury is he didn’t mind saying it in the position that he holds because for some reason that’s just deemed as acceptable behavior for people who live in and are elected officials in this state.”
Johnson used hisJournalop-ed to criticize his detractors, writing, “It was also sadly predictable that liberals would hurl the accusation of racism. This isn’t about race. It’s about riots.”
He also slammed the news media, writing that, “Instead of conducting interviews with conservatives, they conduct arguments.”
PEOPLE’s requests for comment to Johnson’s office regarding his initial remarks were not returned; nor were follow-up requests regarding the statistics cited in hisJournalcolumn.
source: people.com
