America is only now beginning to learn the full scope of the events leading up to and on the day of the U.S. Capitol riots, as President Donald Trump faces a second round of impeachment after Democrats blamed him for “inciting” the riots that would eventually break out.
Ali Alexander — or Ali Akbar as he’s known in Tea Party circles — was a prominent voice in pushing a number of conspiracy claims after the 2020 election, garnering support from a massive number of social media users who associate themselves with the “Q Anon” movement.
According to Fox News, it now appears that Alexander — the organizer of the massive protests in the nation’s capital on January 6 — named three GOP lawmakers in a December 28 live-streamed video who he claims helped coordinate the deadly demonstration, which includes Reps. Andy Biggs, R-AZ, Paul Gosar, R-AZ, and Mo Brooks, R-AL.
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“I was the person who came up with the Jan. 6 idea with Rep. Gosar, Rep. Mo Brooks and Rep. Andy Biggs,” Alexander said in the video. “We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting so that who we couldn’t lobby, we could change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body hearing our loud roar from outside.”
You can watch the relevant section of the video clip of Alexander’s admission in the tweet below:
in case he takes the video down, here’s the relevant section pic.twitter.com/IYiqxeX6Ch
— Jason Paladino (@jason_paladino) January 8, 2021
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Alexander removed the original recorded live stream video, but the above clip was saved by reporter Jason Paladino.
The Intercept previously reported that Alexander made similar claims in a number of other videos, which have since been taken down.
For obvious reasons, the congressmen that Alexander named in his videos have already come out in an attempt to put distance between them and Alexander, as the fallout from the Capitol riots intensifies by the hour.
“Congressman Biggs is not aware of hearing of or meeting Mr. Alexander at any point – let alone working with him to organize some part of a planned protest on January 6,” a spokesperson for Biggs said in a statement.
“He did not have any contact with protestors or rioters, nor did he ever encourage or foster the rally or protests on January 6. He was focused on his research and arguments to work within the confines of the law and established precedent to restore integrity to our elections, and to ensure that all Americans – regardless of party affiliation – can again have complete trust in our elections systems,” the spokesperson added.
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A spokesperson for Rep. Brooks issued a similar statement, firmly denying that he had no contact with or involvement with Alexander in setting up the January 6 protest.
Rep. Gosar’s office refused to comment when asked about his association with Alexander, though he previously praised Alexander on social media, even labeling him as a “true patriot.”
Alexander was apparently part of the 70,000+ purge of Twitter accounts that were banned for pushing conspiracy claims concerning the outcome of the 2020 election, as his account there no longer exists.
