Vivek Ramaswamy excused the January 6 insurrectionists and entertained conspiracy theories about January 6, arguing that blaming Trump for January 6 was “unproductive.” Ramaswamy said January 6 might have been an “inside job,” blamed January 6 on “pervasive censorship,” and wished a “Happy Entrapment Day” on January 6, 2024.
Ramaswamy said the sentences the Proud Boys that were involved in January 6 received were “wrong,” and asserted he would pardon “peaceful, nonviolent” January 6 protesters.
Vivek Ramaswamy said he would not have certified the Electoral College votes as Pence did on January 6. He also claimed “Big Tech” stole the 2020 election and the “national security establishment” stole the 2016 election by discussing potential collusion with Russia.
Ramaswamy Said Blaming Trump For January 6 Was “Unproductive.” According to USA Today, “Ramaswamy said that he believes it is ‘unproductive for our country to blame Trump for January 6, because it exonerates everyone else from introspection on what actually led to the frustrations of Americans that boiled over that day,’ referencing the COVID-19 lockdowns, vaccine mandates and the 2020 election as a base for having to ‘sort all of this out.’ ‘If you tell people they cannot scream that is when they tear things down,’ Ramaswamy said. ‘And I think that's exactly what happened on January 6.’” [USA Today, 7/22/23]
Ramaswamy Said The January 6 Attack On The U.S. Capitol “Does Look Like It Was An Inside Job.” According to NBC News, “Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy voiced support for a variety of far-right conspiracy theories at the fourth GOP presidential primary debate Wednesday, suggesting at one point that the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was an ‘inside job.’ ‘Why am I the only person on this stage, at least, who can say that Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job?’ Ramaswamy said, before he listed other topics popular in conspiracy circles.” [NBC News, 12/6/23]
Ramaswamy Reiterated His Claim That The January 6 Attack On The Capitol Might Have Been An “Inside Job.” According to Politico, “In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Wednesday night, Ramaswamy doubled down on some of the conspiracy theories he listed his support for during the debate: that Jan. 6 was an ‘inside job,’ that the government lied to Americans about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in 9/11, the validity of the great replacement theory and that the 2020 election was stolen by ‘Big Tech.’ ‘I was an anti-woke crusader leaving the business world and if you had asked me three years ago, Is there some chance January 6th is an inside job?, I would’ve said that was crazy talk,’ Ramaswamy said Wednesday. ‘I would say looking at the facts of the video footage that have come out, Dana, it is shocking that you still haven’t gotten a clear answer on how many federal agents were in the field that day.’ Congressional investigations have long rebutted the Jan. 6 claim made by Ramaswamy.” [Politico, 12/7/23]
Ramaswamy Blamed January 6 On “Pervasive Censorship.” According to the Washington Examiner, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy blamed ‘pervasive’ censorship for the Jan. 6 riot. Speaking with Tucker Carlson at the Family Leadership Summit, Ramaswamy reasoned that the demonstrators were driven to riot after their voices were suppressed. ‘What caused Jan. 6 is pervasive censorship in this country in the lead-up to Jan. 6,’ he said. ‘You tell people in this country they cannot speak. That is when they scream. You tell people they cannot scream. That is when they tear things down.’ ‘Until we look ourselves in the mirror and admit the truth on that, we will not move forward as a country,’ Ramaswamy added.” [Washington Examiner, 7/15/23]
January 6, 2024: Ramaswamy Called January 6 “Happy Entrapment Day.” According to CNN, “On Saturday, he marked the third anniversary of the Capitol riot by referencing the false conspiracy theory that federal agents helped rioters breach the Capitol, calling the anniversary ‘entrapment day.’ ‘Happy Entrapment Day,’ Ramaswamy posted on social media.” [CNN, 1/6/24]
Ramaswamy Called The Sentences For Members Of The Proud Boys Involved In The January 6 Attack On The U.S. Capitol “Wrong.” According to the New York Times, “At least two Republican presidential candidates are criticizing as excessive recent prison sentences for members of the far-right Proud Boys involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, casting the defendants as victims of an unfair justice system rather than leading participants in an effort to disrupt the peaceful transition of power. Several sentences have been handed down in the past two weeks: 22 years for Enrique Tarrio, 15 and 17 years for Zachary Rehl and Joseph Biggs, and 10 and 18 years for Dominic Pezzola and Ethan Nordean. The Proud Boys were behind major breaches of the Capitol on Jan. 6, and the men who received the sentences played leading roles in planning the attack, executing it or both. […] Another candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, declared on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday in response to the sentences, ‘This is wrong & it’s sad that I’m the only candidate with the spine to say it.’ In a statement on Wednesday, he vowed to pardon all ‘peaceful, nonviolent’ Jan. 6 participants and said, ‘America now has a two-tiered justice system: Antifa and B.L.M. rioters roam free while peaceful Jan. 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail.’” [New York Times, 9/7/23]
Ramaswamy Said He Would Pardon All “Peaceful, Nonviolent” January 6 Protesters. According to the New York Times, “Another candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, declared on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday in response to the sentences, ‘This is wrong & it’s sad that I’m the only candidate with the spine to say it.’ In a statement on Wednesday, he vowed to pardon all ‘peaceful, nonviolent’ Jan. 6 participants and said, ‘America now has a two-tiered justice system: Antifa and B.L.M. rioters roam free while peaceful Jan. 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail.’” [New York Times, 9/7/23]
Ramaswamy Said He Would Not Have Certified The Electoral College Votes As Pence, Claiming He Would Have Demanded Congress Change Election Laws Before Certifying The 2020 Election. According to ABC News, “In a contentious interview on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday, Ramaswamy echoed earlier statements he made to the National Review by saying Pence missed ‘a historic opportunity … to unite this county’ when he certified the results of the 2020 presidential election. During his appearance on the show, he also said that if he had been in Pence’s position, he would have implemented his voting reform proposal by Jan. 7, the day Pence certified Biden's win, before ‘declaring a reelection campaign’ and certifying results. His proposal: single-day voting via paper ballots requiring a government-issued I.D. ‘matching the voter file.’” [ABC News, 8/28/23]
Ramaswamy Accused “Big Tech” Of Stealing The 2020 Election And The “National Security Establishment” Of Stealing The 2016 Election From Trump By Touting Russian Collusion Theories. According to the New York Times, “As if reading a far-right message board, Mr. Ramaswamy continued, claiming that the 2020 election was stolen by ‘big tech’ (several intelligence agencies called it ‘the most secure in American history’) and that the 2016 election, which Mr. Trump won, was also ‘stolen from him by the national security establishment’ because of the investigation into allegations that his campaign had colluded with Russia.” [New York Times, 12/6/23]