Hawley says House panel ‘trolling’ him, he has no regrets about Jan. 6

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who famously raised his fist to pump up the crowd of protesters outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and supported objections to President Biden’s Electoral College victory said Wednesday he doesn’t regret anything about that day. 

Hawley also told reporters that the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 is “trolling” him by releasing footage of him jogging swiftly through the Capitol as it was under attack, even though he raised his fist earlier in a show of solidarity to the pro-Trump protesters.  

“I do not regret anything I did on that day,” he said. “I take full responsibility for my decision and stand by it. I’ve had a year and a half to think about it. I don’t regret filing the objection. I don’t regret voting the way I did. I don’t regret saluting the crowd.” 

He said the crowd outside the Capitol he saluted on Jan. 6 was “demonstrating peacefully” and had a “right to do so.”  

“I supported their right to be there. I don’t support the riot. I think a reporter asked me earlier today, ‘Why didn’t you join the riot?’ Well, I don’t support the riot, and I never have. But I don’t support their right to be there, and I don’t regret anything,” he said.  

Hawley said he hasn’t watched “a single minute” of the Jan. 6 committee’s hearings but was well aware of the criticism and mockery directed toward him after the panel aired footage showing him jogging across a heavily guarded first floor hallway during the attack and then walking quickly down a set of stairs in the basement to escape the angry crowd.  

“That’s just trolling. They’re just trying to troll. The reason for that is because … after all this time, I still say that I don’t have any regrets, that I would do it again and it was the right decision,” he said.  

Hawley said the video aired by the Jan. 6 committee has only stirred up supporters to give more money to his campaign.  

“I appreciate all their help with my fundraising,” he said of Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as well as other members of the Jan. 6 committee.  

Hawley defended his support of objections to the Electoral College tally in an op-ed for the Southeast Missourian in which he wrote that “many, many citizens in Missouri have deep concerns about election integrity.” 

Asked by a reporter Wednesday if the footage of his running meant that he feared for his life on Jan. 6, Hawley replied with a laugh, “This is just a ‘troll Josh Hawley’ attempt.”