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Marjorie Taylor Greene Exposes Conditions at DC Jail Holding Jan. 6 Defendants

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and several other GOP lawmakers toured the Washington, D.C., jail on Friday where defendants arrested — some close to two years ago — following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are being held and still awaiting trial, describing them as “political prisoners” and often detailing horrid conditions.

“They told us stories of being denied medical treatment,” she told reporters after visiting the facility on Friday, according to The New York Times. “They told us stories of assault. They told us stories of being threatened with rape.”

Greene released a report in December 2021 detailing her findings after visiting the jail in November of that year. In the report, she stated that one inmate had reported being beaten by other detainees and not receiving proper care. But after her Friday visit, she said that some conditions have improved.

“Throughout the entire jail, it was cleaner. It had been painted,” Greene noted. “They are allowed out of their cells a lot longer throughout the day.”

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said Republicans should take credit for the improved conditions since they have repeatedly checked on the defendants, though there were some Democrats in attendance on Friday, the Times said.

“They said in the last month or so, since we took back Congress, that it’s gotten better,” Luna told reporters. “But they said they cleaned it up nicely in the last few days since they knew that we were coming.”

House Republicans launched a promised investigation earlier this month to look into allegations of mistreatment of those charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack at the D.C. jail. The investigation has been spearheaded Greene.

“Civil rights advocates have long been concerned about conditions at the D.C. jail. The facility received increased attention when defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack were housed there, and their lawyers raised concerns about threats from guards, standing sewage, and scant food and water,” the Times reported. “A federal judge in 2021 held top officials of the D.C. jail in contempt of court, ruling they had improperly delayed medical treatment for a Jan. 6 defendant kept in their custody.”

Following the tour, Greene was asked by a reporter if she and other Republicans were attempting to whitewash the events of Jan. 6. She responded by noting that Democrats and media outlets have whitewashed the riots carried out by left-wing groups.

“The Democrats and the media alike are whitewashing all the things that happened with Antifa, BLM protests, and riots across the country in 2020,” she said. “I don’t know why we have to all forget about those, but we have to continue arresting 1,000 more people for Jan. 6.”

Earlier this month, Greene sounded off about an alleged incident at the U.S.-Mexico border.

At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Texas, which Democrats boycotted and refused to attend, Greene asked U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz about an alleged explosive device found by Border Patrol agents. As noted by Mediaite, it turned out to be a ball of sand and duct tape.

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“Chief Ortiz, are you aware that there was an explosive device found by Border Patrol agents on January 17th in an area called No Man’s Land, and there’s surveillance of who put it there? And guess what? It wasn’t Americans; it was cartels. Are you aware of that?” Greene asked.

Ortiz declined to acknowledge the incident, citing classified information.

“I will tell you that some of this information that I receive, I receive in a confidential [sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF)], so I’m going to be a little hesitant of briefing what I know and what I don’t know with respect to some of those, an event like that,” he explained.

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“I understand, Chief Ortiz, but I’m not going to be confidential because I think people deserve to know,” Greene declared. “Our Border Patrol agents should not be in those type of conditions where they are at risk of being blown to pieces by the cartels, who, by the way, are criminals, and they should be treated as such.”

“As a matter of fact, I’ve co-sponsored legislation to declare war on the cartels because they are definitely declaring war on us, the American people, and our Border Patrol agents, and I’ve had enough of it, and I know Americans have had enough of it,” she added.

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