Oregon GOP's 'False Flag' Theory Draws a Backlash

'Oregonian' editorial board wonders where state's 'mainstream Republicans' have gone
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2021 2:27 PM CST
Oregon GOP Pushes 'False Flag' Capitol Theory
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent rioters storm the Capitol in Washington.   (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

As the Senate gears up for Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, tied to the violent Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Oregon's Republican Party has its own take on what happened that day. To wit, per the Guardian: They insist that evidence is increasingly pointing to the DC attack being a "'false flag operation" carried out by those who want to hurt Trump, his supporters, and the GOP in general, all so Trump could be set up to be impeached one more time. That was the gist of a Jan. 19 resolution the state's GOP put forth, one in which it also compared the Capitol riot to the arson of Germany's Reichstag building in 1933—which the Washington Post notes Hitler latched onto to consolidate power, curb freedoms, and put emergency laws into place to, ostensibly, keep the country from harm.

A release that accompanied the GOP resolution also slams the "betrayal" of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, and accuses "Democrats and their enablers" of trying to "falsely assign blame to the peaceful protesters" at the Capitol, as well as to members of Congress and Trump supporters overall. That same day, the Oregonian pushed back in a story that said its state GOP was "[aligning] itself with conspiracy theories." Over the weekend, the paper's editorial board blasted the group, noting its "alarming rhetoric" and asking, "Mainstream Republicans, where are your voices?" The editors note that while "it’s fair for the party to criticize impeachment," state Republicans "must strongly reject the cringeworthy elements of their own party. They must start from a common base of facts." (More Capitol riot stories.)

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