Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Newsmax on Thursday that violence has no place in a political protest but that the media narrative calling the Jan. 6 events an insurrection is incorrect.
His comments on ''Spicer & Co.'' came as the media, Democrats and several high-profile Republicans memorialized the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot earlier in the day.
''They're crafting a narrative that this was an insurrection. That's wrong,'' Clyde said. ''There was a Wall Street Journal article out yesterday that even talked about that.
''They are driving the narrative that Republicans are unfit to govern, that Republicans are the enemy inside the House of Representatives — those are [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi's exact words. And that we're unfit to govern, and that's just wrong.''
Clyde added that the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots distracts from critical day-to-day issues the country faces.
''This Jan. 6 select committee is a shiny object. It's a distraction so that the people of America don't see or don't focus on what's really hurting them,'' he said.
Among the issues Clyde listed as more critical were inflation, conditions at the southern border, the energy crisis and a surge in crime.
Clyde also criticized Pelosi for deflecting blame to former President Donald Trump despite having authority over the U.S. Capitol Police and the sergeant-at-arms.
''When there was a huge failure of law enforcement that day, and people were allowed to breach the Capitol, then the responsibility of that goes all the way to the top, and that lays right at the feet of Nancy Pelosi,'' Clyde added.
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