Michele Tafoya likes to brand herself as a moderate, independent thinker. Minnesotans know the truth: Tafoya is MAGA through and through. Nowhere is this more evident than with her blatant, repeated support of January 6 rioters. Tafoya hosted multiple insurrectionists on her podcast, showering them with sympathy and painting them as “really good people.” Tafoya’s whitewashing of an attempted insurrection tied to at least seven fatalities shows her shocking disrespect for the rule of law, and it insults the intelligence of Minnesotans everywhere.
Tafoya Hosted January 6 Rioter Siaka Massaquoi On Her Podcast, Calling Him “Really Good People.” According to Punchbowl News, “Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster, has hosted Jan. 6 participants on her podcast and raised questions about whether they were unfairly punished for their actions. […] Tafoya referred to Siaka Massaquoi, an actor who was arrested for his participation in the riot, as her ‘J6 brother’ and described him as one of the ‘really good people’ who ‘got caught up in the shuffle’ during two podcasts that ran in late 2024 and early 2025.” [Punchbowl News, 9/15/26]
Tafoya Hosted January 6 Rioter Brandon Straka On Her Podcast And Encouraged Listeners To Support Him Against A US Capitol Police Officer Lawsuit. According to Punchbowl News, “Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster, has hosted Jan. 6 participants on her podcast and raised questions about whether they were unfairly punished for their actions. […] Tafoya interviewed another J6 participant, Brandon Straka, and urged him to tell listeners how to support him as he fought a lawsuit from U.S. Capitol Police officers in a September 2022 podcast.” [Punchbowl News, 9/15/26]
Tafoya Hosted January 6 Rioter And Felon Jay Johnson On Her Podcast, Urging Listeners To Be Forgiving. According to Punchbowl News, “Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster, has hosted Jan. 6 participants on her podcast and raised questions about whether they were unfairly punished for their actions. […] Tafoya interviewed Jay Johnston, who pleaded guilty to a felony offense and was sentenced to one year in prison, in a March 2025 podcast. Tafoya said she hoped listeners would ‘tap into some level of forgiveness for so many of these people who were so mistreated by our justice system.’” [Punchbowl News, 9/15/26]
Tafoya Claimed She Had Heard Of January 6 Rioters Who “Did Nothing Wrong” Being Prosecuted For “Political Reasons.” According to Punchbowl News, “Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster, has hosted Jan. 6 participants on her podcast and raised questions about whether they were unfairly punished for their actions. […] Tafoya also said in that March 2025 podcast she’s heard stories from people who were prosecuted for their role in Jan. 6 but ‘really did nothing wrong’ and that they were targeted ‘for political reasons.’” [Punchbowl News, 9/15/26]
Tafoya Downplayed The Severity Of January 6 And Claimed January 6 Rioters Were Being Treated In An “Un-American” Way. According to Punchbowl News, “Tafoya’s comments are significant because she’s running in a blue state. Democrats are searching for ways to yoke her to Trump, who lost Minnesota by four points in 2024. ‘It was not 9/11. It was not Pearl Harbor … Why are these people being treated like, I mean, murder or something?’ Tafoya said on her podcast. ‘The way that some of these people have been treated is simply un-American,’ Tafoya said of Jan. 6 in a July 2024 podcast.” [Punchbowl News, 9/15/26]