Jan. 6 Committee Republican Adam Kinzinger says some in GOP ‘instigated’ the riot

Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger—an Air Force veteran and one of just two GOP lawmakers on the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack—reflects on the threats to democracy he witnessed that day and the questions the committee is attempting to answer.

Kinzinger hid in his office for six hours during the siege with his gun on his desk, fearing that he may be targeted as one of the only Republicans who congratulated President-elect Biden and rejected the false claims of election fraud promoted by President Trump.

He says that the committee is interviewing hundreds of sources to connect the dots about what led to the deadly violence a year ago this week, but adds that many questions remain unanswered, including who the president talked to, what members of Congress knew, how foreign governments may have been involved and who funded the attacks.

While he criticizes Democrats, it’s his opposition to Trump that has made him an enemy to many in his own party. Kinzinger has decided not to seek re-election after Democratic gerrymandering pit him against a more conservative Republican. He predicts that the GOP will win back the House in 2022, but warns that it will be “chaotic to govern” and could promote the message that “Trumpism works.”

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