Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Was 'Scared' During Jan. 6 Riot

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene admitted she was "scared" during the January 6 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and was thankful to be with "another member of Congress" who was armed, she said during an appearance on Donald Trump Jr.'s "Triggered" podcast.

The Georgia Republican also repeated discredited claims that those taking part were "Antifa BLM rioters" rather than supporters of then-President Donald Trump but provided no evidence to support the assertion. Newsweek has reached out to Greene by phone and voicemail message for comment.

On January 6, 2021, hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators stormed Congress in a bid to stop Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory from being certified, which Trump had repeatedly claimed was fraudulent. In the violence that followed, Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed 35-year-old Trump supporter, was shot dead by police and more than 100 Capitol Police officers were injured.

"I was also scared because nobody could tell me that those were Trump supporters," Greene told Trump Jr. "I fully believe they were Antifa/BLM [Black Lives Matter] rioters, the same ones that we saw cause over $2 billion in damage in American cities across the country the previous year and I was actually scared.

"Luckily there was another member of Congress, I'm not going to name them right now, let people read it in the book, that helped me a lot, and I'm also very thankful he was armed that day because I really believe in good guys with guns."

Greene was on the podcast to promote her book MTG, which was released on Tuesday and promoted by Donald Trump on his Truth Social website.

Following the January 6 riot, some conspiracy theorists suggested that the disorder was caused by Antifa, a loose left-wing movement that seeks to physically confront those it considers far-right. During the riot, crowds of protesters, carrying Trump flags and chanting slogans supporting the president, clashed repeatedly with police. It total, 378 people, including members of far-right groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, have been sentenced to prison for their action regarding the riot.

Greene's comment about "Antifa BLM rioters" comes despite her having previously claimed January 6 defendants were being "treated as political prisoners" due to their opinions by a "two-tiered" justice system. She made the comments during a March congressional visit to the District of Columbia jail where a number of those arrested on January 6 were being held, with the Associated Press reporting that GOP lawmakers high-fived and shook hands with detainees.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he will make 44,000 hours of footage captured during the January 6 riot, from surveillance and police body cameras, available to the public fulfilling a pledge made when he stood for the post in October. The first 90 hours of video were published on November 17 via a House committee website.

Former President Trump is facing two sets of criminal charges, federally and in the state of Georgia, related to allegations he broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts and insists the charges against him are politically motivated.