GOP Rep Who Called Capitol Rioters “Tourists” Was Photographed Barricading Doors Against Rioters

Photo via @RexChapman/Twitter, @bryrsmith/Twitter

May 18, 2021, 11:41 am*

The Republican congressman who attempted to claim that the events at the Capitol on January 6 did not amount to an insurrection and compared rioters to “tourists” was spotted in photos from that day helping to barricade the House chamber doors against the mob. One photo, in particular, shows him helping to push something large up against the door with his colleagues while other members of Congress huddled on the floor before they were evacuated.

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“There was no insurrection, and to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a bald-faced lie,” said Rep. Andrew Clyde on Wednesday. “Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking videos and pictures. You know, if you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.”

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The Rep. Clyde news reminded me of this: 

UNITED STATES – JANUARY 6: Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., second from top left, helps barricade the House chamber door as rioters disrupt the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021. pic.twitter.com/ewizgiuwLn

— Tom Williams (@pennstatetom) May 15, 2021

In another part of his statement to the House Oversight Committee, Clyde even admitted to being one of the people who had to barricade the doors against what he himself described as a mob, and yet he still insisted that what happened was not an insurrection.

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“As one of the members who stayed in the Capitol, and on the House floor, who with other Republican colleagues helped barricade the door until almost 3 pm from the mob who tried to enter, I can tell you the House floor was never breached and it was not an insurrection,” he said.

These self-contradictory statements seem to be a part of a larger strategy by the GOP to downplay and deny the events of January 6 and rewrite history. Clyde is not the only one who made statements defending the insurrectionists that day, with Republican Representatives Paul Gosar and Jody Hice backing him up.

Look at the fear on his face as he hides behind an armed guard, I am sure that’s the face of someone hiding from “normal tourists”.

These people have no shame. https://t.co/2dcndSCtPv

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 18, 2021

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“It was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others,” said Hice.

This statement, of course, is questionable considering the fact that a Capitol police officer collapsed just after returning to his station from the insurrection and died of multiple strokes in the hospital.

When confronted about his statements on Wednesday by members of the media, Clyde acted rather strangely, appearing reluctant to answer their questions and then telling them to go listen to his statement again and accusing them of taking it out of context.

NBC News’ @LACaldwellDC confronted Rep. Andrew Clyde today about his claim that the insurrection was just “a normal tourist visit.”

Clyde tells Caldwell she “didn’t take what I just said in context at all” but then won’t explain or clarify what he meant. pic.twitter.com/3d0XOpMQCa

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 13, 2021

If anything, more context has only made Clyde look worse on this over time, not better.

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Baffled Americans who are not Trump supporters have resoundingly mocked Clyde for sticking to his “the mob breaking into the Capitol wasn’t an insurrection” story, with the resurfaced photos renewing this fun-making.

“If you didn’t know that TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit,” Clyde said last week. https://t.co/VtmIikmUKc

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 18, 2021

It’s a well known fact that it is a time honored tradition to barricade doors when tourists are strolling nearby.

— Robin Messing (@RobinSMessing) May 15, 2021

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*First Published: May 18, 2021, 10:38 am