Life

'Stop the Steal' Organizer Says Several GOP Congressmen Helped Plan the Rally

Ali Alexander, an organizer of the Jan. 6 rally turned riot, said in a livestream that congressmen Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, and Mo Brooks helped plan it.

andy biggs protest
Image via Getty
Getty

One lead organizer of last week's "Stop the Steal" rally that morphed into an attack against the U.S. Capitol claims that GOP congressmen Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona, and congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama all participated in planning of the Jan. 6 catastrophe.

As CNN points out, Arizona resident and pro-Trump activist Ali Alexander implicated the three members of the House of Representatives during a December livestream on Periscope, where he told followers the four of them had been "planning something big."

“I’m the guy who came up with the idea of January 6 when I was talking with Congressman Gosar, Congressman Andy Biggs, and Congressman Mo Brooks. So we’re the four guys who came up with a January 6 event — #DoNotCertify — and it was to build momentum and pressure, and then on the day change hearts and minds of congresspeoples who weren’t yet decided, or saw everyone outside and said, ‘I can’t be on the other side of that mob,’” Alexander said in a livestream on Dec. 29.

Biggs, who is chair of the House Freedom Caucus, denied associating with Alexander.

"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," his spokesperson told CNN. "He did not have any contact with protestors or rioters, nor did he ever encourage or foster the rally or protests. 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 Arizona Republican Party, which Gosar and Biggs belong to, faced backlash last month after promoting one of Alexander's tweets and asking republicans if they were willing to die to overturn the legitimate outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

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Since the violent riot that resulted in five deaths, Alexander's social media accounts have been suspended by social media platforms across the board.

Following the attack, democratic House members pushed to have republicans involved in the Wednesday riot removed from office, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and newly-elected Cori Bush.

"I believe the Republican members of Congress who have incited this domestic terror attack through their attempts to overturn the election must face consequences," Bush wrote introducing a bill that would expel members like Gosar, Biggs, and Brooks. "They have broken their sacred Oath of Office."

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