Sen. Ron Johnson Accused of Racism by Democrats, Media for Saying He Would Have Been Concerned if Black Lives Matter and Antifa Marched on the Capitol Instead of Trump Supporters

Published by The Gateway Pundit

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is under assault by Democrats and the media for remarks he made Thursday saying he would have been concerned on January 6 if the tens of thousands of protesters marching on the Capitol had been comprised of Black Live Matter and Antifa activists rather than Trump supporters.

Johnson made the remarks in a radio interview with syndicated talk show host Joe Pags Pagliarulo that have been taken out of context and lied about by Democrat activists and reporters. Before Johnson made the comments he is under attack for, he noted he had repeatedly condemned the Capitol rioters. He and Pags also spoke about the Black Lives Matter-Antifa riots of 2020 that caused a reported $2 billion dollars in damages and killed 26 people. That led to Johnson contrasting his opinion on the potential for violence by the protesters.
Ron Johnson: “I’m also criticized because I made the comment that on January 6 I never felt threatened. Because I didn’t and mainly because 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, 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. Now, had the tables been turned–Joe, this could get me in trouble–had the tables been turned and President Trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned…Well, let’s face it, people didn’t board up their storefronts in metropolitan areas in case Joe Biden won.”
Listen to the entire interview:

It is worth noting that up until the January 6 Capitol riot Trump rallies and marches had been peaceful while Antifa and Black Lives Matter had held hundreds of violent protests in 2020 in cities across America with hundreds of stores looted and burned in arson fires. The Antifa-BLM riots continue to this day in cities like Portland and Seattle while the January 6 riot has not been repeated.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel headlined their report by excluding Johnson’s mention of Antifa to make him come off as racist, holding off until the third paragraph to report his mention of Antifa but then following with an embedded tweet by the Democrat group American Bridge falsely accusing Johnson of racism:

Ron Johnson says Capitol attackers ‘love this country’ but he would have felt unsafe if Black Lives Matter stormed building instead
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is facing accusations of racism after saying the supporters of former President Donald Trump who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January didn’t worry him but that he might have been concerned if they had been supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I knew those were people who love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn’t concerned,” Johnson said about the predominantly white crowd that marched to the U.S. Capitol to overturn a presidential election and triggered an assault that left five people dead, 140 police officers injured and windows smashed.
“Now, had the tables been turned, and Joe — this is going to get me in trouble — had the tables been turned and President Trump won the election and tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and antifa, I might have been a little concerned,” Johnson said during an interview with syndicated radio show host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo.

“Blatant racism from @RonJohnsonWI here. He says he wasn’t worried on 1/6 because the majority-white insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol “love this country,” but says if they were Black Lives Matter protestors he would’ve been concerned for his safety. #WISen”


Further down in the MJS article is Johnson’s explanation of concerns about BLM-Antifa with context downplaying the violence added by MSj reporter Molly Beck:

Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he made the comment because, out of about 10,000 protests that took place last summer in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, 570 turned violent and caused billions of dollars worth of property damage.
“That’s why I would have been more concerned,” Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson also cited 25 deaths being tied to the protests. Data from the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project show of the 25 people whose deaths were tied to protests or political unrest, nine were Black Lives Matter demonstrators and two were conservatives killed after pro-Trump rallies.
Out of 10,600 total protests, the group identified 7,750 protests connected to Black Lives Matter. It found about 220 locations where the protests became “violent” through physical violence or by damaging property.
“Over 10,100 of these — or nearly 95% — involve peaceful protesters. Fewer than 570 — or approximately 5% — involve demonstrators engaging in violence,” the report said.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, keyed off the misleading MJS headline, saying, “We’ve moved from just plain old fringe, extremist rants to fringe extremist and racist rants. This is seriously embarrassing to our state, @SenRonJohnson”


Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) appearing Saturday on MSNBC’s The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross called Johnson a “traitor” and said that BLM had previously protested protested at the Capitol with no police being injured. Pressley neglected to mention the Black Lives Matter-Antifa riots at the end of last May in Washington, D.C. where rioters tried to storm the White House, injuring dozens of Secret Service and police officers. BLM-Antifa also torched a historic church and several other buildings near the White House and looted many stores.


Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), keying off the misleading MJS headline, accused Johnson of racism, “Dear Sen Ron Johnson: In case you weren’t paying attention during the Impeachment trial, we showed multiple videos of the largely white mob attacking police officers. That’s why Senators like you went into hiding. Your white skin color would not have saved you from the white mob.”


Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) went off on Johnson and Republicans on CNN on Sunday, ““This is where the Republican party has gone. They are clearly embracing racist ideologies, white supremacist groups, and completely emboldened to say that out loud in public.” @RepJayapal responds to Senator Ron Johnson’s comments.”


ABC News ran a report Sunday that framed BLM as a peaceful protest movement and repeating the false accusations of racism against Johnson.
“Ron Johnson faces pressure to resign after comments about BLM and antifa. The Republican senator received backlash after comments on Black Lives Matter protesters that some are saying is racist. @eschulze has more.”


CNN reporter Daniella Diaz framed Johnson as a racist, “Republican Sen. Ron Johnson says he might have been concerned for safety had the protesters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 been affiliated with Black Lives Matter instead of being a largely White pro-Trump crowd.”


Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wisconsin did not defend Johnson, not did he condemn him when asked on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos if Johnson should apologize:

 

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