Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr is suggesting that questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election “precipitated” the U.S. Capitol riot nearly two weeks ago.
Barr noted during an ITV News interview that “most people are exercising their First Amendment rights” protesting, but “there was a substantial group” that went further with breaking into the U.S. Capitol.
“I’m sad to see, but not surprised in a way to see, the kind of violence we saw on Capitol Hill,” Barr, who left office in December, continued. “I consider it despicable.”
He added, “Regardless of which side of the political spectrum is involved, we just cannot tolerate violence interfering with the processes of government.”
Watch Barr’s interview below:
“That was the thing that precipitated the riots on the Hill”
Former attorney general Bill Barr tells @RohitKachrooITV that questioning the legitimacy of the US presidential election ‘precipitated’ the Jan 6 US Capitol riots https://t.co/h3UKcRol1g pic.twitter.com/lrFRpP25yE
— ITV News (@itvnews) January 18, 2021
He also said:
“I’ll leave it to the people who are looking into the genesis of this to say whether incitement was involved. I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘inevitable,’ but I think that when you start suppressing free speech, when people lose confidence in the media, and also when they lose faith in the integrity of elections, you’re going to have some people resort to violence.”
Barr noted that when he first became the attorney general “one of the things I was concerned about was the emergence of violence in the political process.”
See Barr’s comments below:
“When I first came in, one of the things I was concerned about was the emergence of violence in the political process”
Former attorney general Bill Barr tells @RohitKachrooITV https://t.co/h3UKcRol1g pic.twitter.com/wFgkg5PaKR
— ITV News (@itvnews) January 18, 2021
After pro-Trump protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Barr slammed President Donald Trump, calling his conduct amid the riot a “betrayal of his office and supporters.”
The former attorney general also said at that time that “orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable.”
Axios recently reported Barr privately told Trump at the White House on Dec. 1, “The stuff that these people are filling your ear with just isn’t true,” regarding allegations of widespread voter fraud, adding, “It’s just bulls***.”