Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Schedules Trip To See Jan. 6 Detainees In Jail

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Kentucky) are collaborating to schedule a congressional trip to the Washington D.C. jail where January 6 defendants are held.

Greene, who has toured the jail multiple times, said she and Comer would release a letter to compel other congressional members to join the trip. The letter is expected to be released on Thursday.

The trip to the jail crystalizes how the party’s far-right faction is responding to the Capitol insurrection. The right wing of the Republican party has become increasingly sympathetic to January 6 detainees.

“We’re going to be addressing the human rights abuse, such as the fact that they’ve been held in solitary confinement up to 23 hours a day, denied the ability to see their families,” Greene said while criticizing the jail’s conditions. She alleges that the jail’s facilities have “non-working toilets” and that defendants don’t have access to medications and proper food sanitation.

Comer said he was working with Greene on the letter but didn’t expressly endorse the letter. He said he was working with Greene just like any other committee member. Comer did not specify if he would attend the trip.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) expressed contempt for the trip in a statement, saying that Congress must reform the prison system and that Republicans are glorifying the insurrection.

“The treatment of detained individuals in facilities across the country is an important subject for Congressional oversight. That’s why last Congress Oversight Democrats pressed for answers on the deteriorating conditions at Rikers Island in New York, for example,” Raskin said. “Our GOP colleagues’ sudden and selective sympathy for January 6 insurrectionists reflects their continuing effort to lionize the violent attempt to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.”

Article by Ben Shimkus