The long-awaited Congressional hearings on the January 6 insurrection kicked off today with gripping testimony from four police officers who were assaulted and threatened while responding to the disturbances. The testimony clearly wowed members of the select committee conducting the hearings. Right-wing Twitter? Not so much.
From the opening gavel, online rightists were busily discrediting the witnesses. Some basic lines of attack:
The Testimony is Fake:
American Greatness contributor (and occasional Fox News guest) Julie Kelly called DC Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone a “crisis actor”.
Crisis actor Fanone just beat on the table and said it’s “disgraceful!” that any elected official denies his narrative of what happened on January 6.
Calls it an “insurrection.” Blasting GOP lawmakers. Now says this isn’t about politics, lol.
He has many tattoos.
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) July 27, 2021
Something Happened, but the Cops Are Being Wimps About It:
Following testimony from Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn describing the racial epithets hurled at him during the insurrection, former Newsmax host John Cardillo labelled the the officers “little bitches”.
Corrections officers around the country get the shit kicked out of them and their faces slashed many times yearly by violent inmates, yet you never see any of them crying like a little bitches at congressional hearings.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) July 27, 2021
Newsmax host Greg Kelly commented on Capitol Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who was crushed between a door frame by rioters, injuring his skull.
Put HODGES on "desk duty" right away. He's not equipped to be a cop.
— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) July 27, 2021
No words!
Having commanded the NYPD on 9/11 and been stabbed and shot at; and witnessed numerous colleagues shot and killed in the 80s – 90s in the line of duty, I am shocked at the cowardice.
They should be fired – not fit for duty. https://t.co/q7jlqD0Kh4
— Bernard B. Kerik (@BernardKerik) July 27, 2021
Former Trump Administration Official Sebastian Gorka chimed in as well.
Cowards all. https://t.co/Dob6wahEX1
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) July 27, 2021
Did they not even practice their fake crying before this hearing?
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) July 27, 2021
Let’s hear the testimonies of the cops from Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Portland and all the other cities who had to deal with BLM/ANTIFA riots last summer.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) July 27, 2021
There’s Something Weird About People Who Get Emotional After Hearing the Testimony:
After Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), one of only two Republicans on the commission, teared up while addressing the officers, New York Post contributor Eddie Scarry predicted the demise of the nation.
Now this man is nearly having a breakdown. Our country is doomed. pic.twitter.com/v9bh60iqGp
— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) July 27, 2021
LMFAO @RepKinzinger is crying on national television. Imagine Ben Franklin walking into this committee right now. He'd turn the tables over.
— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) July 27, 2021
What a pussy. "You guys won, you held." Um, people weren't there to do anything, they got bored and left. That's because it wasn't an insurrection and more than half the people there walked in open doors with the permission of the police. https://t.co/aIuCxv2R2k
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) July 27, 2021
And Somehow Simone Biles Has Something to Do With It:
https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1420057125913382919
Clara Grudberg joined Washingtonian in July 2021. Originally from New York City, she studies history and journalism at Georgetown University.
