At least 21 state and local Republican officials attended the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, D.C., that turned into a violent riot , according to a new HuffPost tally, many of whom are now under pressure to resign.
They traveled from 16 different states, arriving for the Stop the Steal demonstration on the White House Ellipse, where they watched President Donald Trump tell incendiary lies about having been robbed of reelection. He then told the crowd of thousands to march on the Capitol.
In the crowd that day were 13 members of state Houses or Assemblies; three state senators; a county commissioner; a city council member; a GOP congressional district chair; a district director; and a co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party. The group also includes a QAnon conspiracy theorist; a self-described member of a fascist militia; and a man who once declared that the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.
Only two of those GOP officials appear to have breached the Capitol property itself that day, and have since been arrested, but the prevalence of Republican legislators and party functionaries at the demonstration underscores the partys rank complicity in fomenting a historic insurrection.
These GOP officials, after all, were taking part in, and lending credence to, the finale of a monthslong campaign to falsely discredit the results of a fair election. All were eager participants in a nakedly anti-democratic ploy to keep their preferred president in power, and helped whip a fascist mob into a frenzy.
All are now facing calls to resign, but only one has done so. And although most have since condemned the violence, vandalism, and looting at the Capitol which led to the deaths of five people many have sought to deflect blame. Of the 21 GOP officials in HuffPosts tally, at least 13 have made statements attempting to blame the violence on antifa or paid provocateurs.
The FBI says there is no evidence antifa orchestrated that days chaos. There is a mountain of evidence, however, showing the violence was committed by a Make America Great Again mob .
Here are the names of the state and local GOP officials that were part of that mob. (This list does not include the federal lawmakers in attendance .)
The following list is not comprehensive, and HuffPost will be reporting further on officials who participated in the Jan. 6 rally. Know an elected official or party functionary who should be on this list but isnt? Email christopher.mathias@huffpost.com .
Derrick Evans
Derrick Evans, 35, a newly elected Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, livestreamed himself breaking into the Capitol, leading the charging crowd in a chant of Trump!
Once inside the building, Evans immediately confessed to his crime on the livestream, yelling Were in! Were in! Were in! Were in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!
He was arrested by federal authorities two days later. He faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, according to the Justice Department, and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds.
Although initially fighting back against claims that he should resign, saying he did nothing wrong, Evans eventually apologized for taking part in the insurrection, announcing that he would step down and take full responsibility for his actions.
(After his resignation, a report in The Washington Post detailed Evans history of harassing women outside abortion clinics while wearing a Make America Great Again hat.)
Couy Griffin
Couy Griffin a Republican county commissioner in Otero County, New Mexico, who founded a group called Cowboys for Trump filmed himself on the steps of the Capitol building during the insurrection.
Federal agents arrested Griffin this past weekend as he returned to Washington, D.C., to protest the inauguration. Hes charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry.
Were not going anywhere, Griffin says in the Jan. 6 video from the Capitol steps. Were not gonna take no for an answer. Were not gonna get our election stolen by us from China. (China did not steal the U.S. election.)
In a video posted after the Capitol riots, Griffin claimed there may need to be another MAGA rally at the Capitol soon, and if it happens there could be blood running out of that building.
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