GOP Congressman Gives 1/6 Rioter Flag Flown Over Capitol, Calls Her 'Hero'

Representative Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, presented a woman who pleaded guilty earlier this year to her role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot with an American flag after she was released from federal prison on Friday.

The woman, Dr. Simone Gold, posted photos Friday on Twitter of Gohmert presenting her with the flag, and wrote: "I am honored to receive this recognition from Congressman Gohmert, a true believer in freedom and a fierce defender of our constitutional rights."

The Republican lawmaker then retweeted Gold, and stated that she "is a patriot and an American hero."

In March, Gold pleaded guilty to entering or remaining inside a restricted building, and agreed to pay a fine for her other charges including disorderly conduct, demonstrating inside the Capitol, and obstruction of a government proceeding.

Gold founded America's Frontline Doctors, a group criticized for spreading misinformation including the promotion of hydroxychloroquine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The doctor had been sentenced to 60 days in prison, but was released from a Miami federal prison two weeks early, MedPage Today reported.

The congressman's decision to honor Gold following her release received criticism on social media. Responding to a photo of Gohmert presenting the American flag to Gold, Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican and a member of the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot tweeted on Saturday: "This is sick."

"As a Veteran and an American I have had moments that light a fire inside of me. This is one of them. To take an individual guilty of an assault on Democracy and give them the flag of the country they spit on? Louie Gohmert is a waste of oxygen," Victor Ruiz, a former combat medic, tweeted.

Newsweek has reached out to Gohmert's press office for comment.

In a statement on Friday on his website, Gohmert said: "After having her name and reputation shamefully dragged through the mud, the Biden administration's DOJ threw her in prison for peacefully walking into the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and delivering a speech. Dr. Gold is the definition of what a political prisoner looks like—something I never thought I'd see here in the United States of America."

He added: "God Bless Dr. Gold. History will not look kindly upon those who persecuted—and prosecuted—doctors who spoke out against the COVID lockdown, mask and vaccine mandates."

Last July, the Republican lawmaker said he believed the riot was a conspiracy set-up by the Democrats.

"We can't let them intimidate us from not protesting. That's what this treatment of people that got arrested was all about—intimidation," he said at 2021's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).