MAGA Calls for Liz Cheney to Be Jailed: 'Guilty of Treason'

Supporters of former President Donald Trump are calling for former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney to be jailed for treason for her work on the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Cheney was vice-chair of the panel that concluded in December last year that Trump had engaged in a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.

The Wyoming Republican lost her No. 3 GOP leadership position in the House after voting to impeach Trump in the wake of the attack and then not backing down in her criticism of Trump. She was replaced by Harriet Hageman, a Trump-endorsed Republican who defeated her in last year's primary.

Trump allies are now launching fresh attacks on Cheney, who is now a professor at the University of Virginia, after House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he would release thousands of hours of footage from the riot.

Supporters of Trump, who is leading the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, believe the complete archive of security footage will bolster their narrative that January 6 was not a violent storming of the Capitol by supporters of Trump.

Some conservatives have used short clips from the initial batch of footage, totaling around 90 hours, to claim the rioters had acted peacefully and that the select committee had ignored evidence.

"Liz Cheney & Nancy Pelosi used their corrupt J6 committee to demonize every Trump supporter in the country," Texas Representative Ronny Jackson wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "What's being revealed from the J6 tapes is SHOCKING. They lied to the country and used J6 to weaponize government to promote their own corrupt agenda. Horrible people!!"

Another person said that Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the only other Republican on the committee and who announced he would not seek reelection last year, are "guilty of Treason and Manslaughter."

An X user posted that Cheney "lied to the American people and committed treason."

Some defended Cheney, with one person writing on X that the former congresswoman "will be remembered for not letting MAGA attempt to rewrite history!"

The Republicans Against Trump account posted that history "will remember Liz Cheney as a true patriot who put country before party."

Newsweek reached out to Cheney via email for comment.

Cheney reacted to Johnson's announcement about the release of the security footage on X, sharing a clip of previously available footage of that day that was compiled by The New York Times.

In the clip, protesters can be seen aggressively engaging with Capitol security and police officers, spraying them with liquid and hitting them with flags and other items.

"Here's some January 6th video for you," Cheney wrote alongside the clip.

The House committee that investigated the Capitol attack recommended federal prosecutors investigate Trump in relation to four crimes, including aiding an insurrection. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said that the case is part of a political witch hunt because he is by far the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

In August, the Department of Justice indicted Trump on four felony counts for his role in the attack. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, as well as the charges in three other criminal cases.