Eric Swalwell Says J6 Rally Like Holding 9/11 Vigil For the Hijackers

Authored by newsweek.com and submitted by LilDoctor007

Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) compared the "Justice for J6" rally to a "9/11 vigil for the hijackers" as he lashed out at Republicans on social media.

The Democrat shared his views on this weekend's rally on Twitter on Saturday as attendees prepared to gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington to support rioters facing charges related to the January 6 attack at the same location.

Ahead of the rally, organizer Matt Braynard - former President Donald Trump's campaign staffer - said members of Congress would attend.

Ultimately, no congressional lawmakers spoke at the event, although three House Republican candidates - Joe Kent of Washington state, Mike Collins of Georgia and Jeff Zink of Arizona did speak and attend, Spectrum News reported.

Rally attendees shared their anger during the event, with one yelling, "Where's [Republican House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy? Where's [Republican Senate Minority Leader] McConnell? They're all useless," The Washington Times reported.

Rep. Swalwell shared his views about the rally on social media and blamed Republicans for attending the gathering.

He said: "Blessed by @GOPLeader McCarthy, radical Republicans are celebrating cop killers and terrorists at the U.S. Capitol.

"McCarthy condones this as many injured Jan. 6 officers have not yet returned to work. This is like holding a 9/11 vigil...for the hijackers. Nice work, Kevin."

The tweet has since been liked more than 24,200 times and has been retweeted on more than 7,780 occasions.

House Minority leader McCarthy previously told Politico "I don't think anyone" from the House would attend the rally.

Blessed by @GOPLeader McCarthy, Radical Republicans are celebrating cop killers & terrorists at the US Capitol. McCarthy condones this as many injured Jan. 6 officers have not yet returned to work. This is like holding a 9/11 vigil…for the hijackers. Nice work, Kevin. — Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) September 18, 2021

His comments were made after he and several other congressional leaders were briefed about Saturday's rally by the Capitol Police.

Approximately between 400 to 450 attendees gathered for Saturday's J6 rally, according to the Capitol Police.

Cara Castronuova, who co-hosted Saturday's rally, hit out at the media and lawmakers for the low turnout and said possible attendees had been scared away by emphasizing the potential for violence at the event.

The J6 rally had been advertised as a show of support for those people who rioted at the Capitol on January 6.

A large group of rioters raced into the Capitol after sharing Trump's baseless claims that there had been widespread voter fraud.

Some 140 police officers were injured during the riot and federal authorities have since arrested more than 600 people for their alleged involvement.

Newsweek has contacted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for comment.

zdiggler on September 19th, 2021 at 15:39 UTC »

Hijackers were conservatives also so, all make sense.

DTG_420 on September 19th, 2021 at 15:16 UTC »

So many people saw the turn out and laughed at how small it was but in reality it’s unbelievably sad how many people still showed up.

spoobles on September 19th, 2021 at 13:51 UTC »

Very apt comparison