Marjorie Taylor Greene Defends Jan. 6 Comment Amid Calls for Her Arrest

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene defended her controversial remarks about last year's Capitol riot on Monday, after the White House said her comments were a "slap in the face" and urged other political leaders to condemn them.

"The White House needs to learn how sarcasm works. My comments were making fun of Joe Biden and the Democrats, who have continuously made me a political target since January 6th," the Georgia Republican said in a statement that was shared to her Twitter account.

She added: "I will never back down from my support of the Second Amendment. And I will never allow the White House, Democrats, or the media to continue to accuse me of something I had nothing to do with."

On Saturday night, the GOP lawmaker said the rioters who stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, would have "won" if she had organized the event. "Not to mention, it would've been armed," the conservative firebrand said at a dinner organized by the New York Young Republican Club.

In response, the White House condemned Greene's comments on Monday, saying, "It goes against our fundamental values as a country for a member of Congress to wish that the carnage of January 6th had been even worse, and to boast that she would have succeeded in an armed insurrection against the United States government."

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates called her rhetoric a "slap in the face" to the police who responded to the riot and the families who lost loved ones. Nine people died as a result of the insurrection, both during the riot and in the aftermath.

Bates called on other leaders across the country "to condemn these dangerous, abhorrent remarks and stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law."

In her statement, Greene accused the White House of "trying to weaponize a sarcastic joke" and said the "only time" Democrats support the Second Amendment is when "armed Antifa larpers want to defend perverts at drag queen story time or when leftist Hollywood celebs and politicians are protected by armed bodyguards."

"Every day, I receive violent threats against my life simply because Democrats & the media have lied and smeared my character for the past 2 years," the congresswoman's statement read. "Including threats resulting in actual arrests with criminal charges & threats against my home in an attempt to have me killed."

Her comments have prompted calls for her arrest, with observers describing her remarks as a "threat to overthrow the government." However, experts say there are no legal grounds to charge Greene with a crime in relation to her remarks.

Ion Meyn, an assistant law professor at the University of Wisconsin, told Newsweek that although the congresswoman may face negative social consequences for her rhetoric, Greene's comments on an event that already happened fall under "protected speech."

"Engaging in hypotheticals about events that already happened is not a crime," he said.

Update 12/12/2022, 3:33 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional information.