Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said in a recent interview that he was armed and willing to shoot rioters during the Jan. 6 Capitol incursion.
“I knew there was going to be violence. I didn’t necessarily know they were going to sack the Capitol, but I knew there was going to be violence,” Kinzinger told Rolling Stone.
Kinzinger claimed he had warned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of coming violence, but that McCarthy had been “very dismissive” of him.
The congressman said he told his staff to stay home on Jan. 6 but added that it was “kind of a normal morning.”
“I was watching [former President Donald Trump’s] speech and it was crazy, like usual. I remember seeing [Donald Trump] Jr. say, ‘This is now Trump’s party.’ And I’m like, well, that’s creepy. And then Trump says, ‘I’m going to go with you to the Capitol.’ I’m like, ‘Man, this is bad,’” Kinzinger said.
“So I went down for the opening of the certification. And then I left pretty much when the proceedings started, and then spent basically the next six hours in my office, hunkered down, with my gun out, prepared to defend against my own party.”
Asked if he was “genuinely scared” on Jan. 6, Kinzinger responded, “Yeah.”
“I’d say maybe it’s around 2:30 p.m., and there was a moment where I was like, ‘Man, there’s a real sense of evil.’ I can’t explain it any further than that. And I’m not one of these guys that feels evil a lot,” he said.
“But I just felt a real darkness, like a thick, bad feeling. And there was about a 15- to 30-minute timeframe, where, at one point, you realize they’ve breached the Capitol,” he added. “I know if they can breach those outer lines, they can get anywhere, including my office. And I had been targeted on Twitter that day and prior, like, ‘Hangman’s noose. We’re coming for you.’”
Kinzinger was then asked point-blank if he had contemplated having to shoot American citizens, to which he responded, “Yeah, I thought about it.”
“If you’re already at a point where you’re beating down police officers and you’re willing to sack the U.S. Capitol, which hadn’t been done in hundreds of years, if you come face to face with Chief RINO in his office, who doesn’t believe that Donald Trump won re-election, yeah, they’re going to try to fight and kill me, and I’m not going to let that happen,” he said.
Kinzinger also said he supported much of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure agenda. He was one of 13 Republicans who voted for Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill last week.
Kinzinger was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the Capitol incursion.
He has announced that he will not seek re-election next year.
I’m proud to have served #Illinois for six terms and look forward to what’s next. I’ll continue to fight for truth and transparency, for principled leadership and proven solutions, for hope and opportunity.
Thank you for this great honor, #IL16. Here’s to the next chapter! pic.twitter.com/vZu8NFET5e
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) October 29, 2021
He told Rolling Stone that he might run for governor of Illinois and is also considering a run for the Senate.
“I’m looking at governor and senator in Illinois. That’ll be a decision I’ll make by January,” Kinzinger said. “And I’m not ruling out anything in 2024, either.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
