Garrity Praised Violent January 6th Rioters in Unearthed Social Posts

Garrity Praised Violent January 6th Rioters in Unearthed Social Posts

New reporting from American Journal News uncovers social posts from Stacy Garrity "praising the violent rioters" who "broke windows, assaulted police officers, and defecated in hallways," at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. New posts show that Garrity "was more sympathetic to the rioters and their cause than previously known," repeatedly referring to them as "patriots" and saying she was "proud" of them.

Today's reporting comes after Garrity has repeatedly claimed "we know that [Trump] won" the 2020 election, and "defended Trump's election fraud lies" many times - including saying "there will always be fraud in Philadelphia." Loyalty to Trump has been a top priority for Garrity throughout the campaign.

American Journal News: Garrity praised rioters, questioned 2020 election in unearthed posts

• Newly unearthed Facebook posts show Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election and praising the violent rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
• The posts suggest that Garrity, who is now the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, was more sympathetic to the rioters and their cause than previously known…. The rioters broke windows, assaulted police officers, and defecated in hallways.

• As this chaos was unfolding, the official Facebook page for Garrity's 2020 campaign posted a statement condemning the violence and offering prayers for law enforcement. The post was written in Garrity's voice, but metadata indicates it was published by a hired consultant.
• Several commenters responded to this post defending the rioters. Garrity responded to one of these individuals from her personal Facebook account, seemingly referring to the rioters as "patriots" and noting that she had attended a protest against certifying the election the previous day.

• "I am proud of our Patriots," Garrity said.

• "I am not going to become part of the swamp!" Garrity shot back. "I spoke at the rally in Harrisburg yesterday condemning the election and lack of integrity. Just want to make sure that law enforcement and soldiers and our patriots don't get hurt."

• In another post, Garrity said she agreed with a commenter who said the riot was "caused by outside influencers." This is not the only time Garrity has defended Trump's election fraud lies.

• On the first day of his second term, Trump pardoned all of the Jan. 6 rioters and has since moved to have some of their criminal records expunged. In January 2025, Garrity told the Philadelphia Inquirer that she didn't have an opinion on the pardons.

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