Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene.Photo: Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
A pair of Congressional newcomers have made quite the splash — with a handful of controversies — during their first days in office, highlighting a divisive era under PresidentDonald Trumpand underscoring the rift he’s leaving within the Republican Party.
Reps. Lauren Boebert andMarjorie Taylor Greeneboth won their November elections riding off a fierce loyalty to the president and his brash political brand, campaigning in pro-Trump garb and aligning themselves with his conservative policies.
Now members of the House of Representatives, the two lawmakers — Boebert, from Colorado, and Greene, from Georgia — have made headlines defending Trump’s untrue claims over his election loss, while earning side-eyes from their new colleagues.
In the past, both Boebert, 34, and Greene, 46, have publicly expressed belief in the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory — though each has made slight efforts to distance themselves from the debunked theory, while still parroting the gist of its claims on social media.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty
The dizzying conspiracy theory started in 2016 with anonymous internet posts and alleges that a secret gang of Democratic lawmakers and global elites run an international child sex trafficking ring—among other unfounded and dangerously provocative theories.
It’s gained online traction throughout Trump’s presidency, with Boebert and Greene largely seen as Congress’first QAnon-believing members.
“That is actually insane,” former Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Republican from Virginia,told PEOPLE last Novemberabout the far-fetched conspiracy, which claims Trump, 74, is leading a secret, internal resistance to root out a non-existent cabal from the U.S. government.
Rep. Lauren Boebert.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
The two lawmakers bothmade headlines on Tuesdaywhen they complained about newly installed metal detectors at the entrance of the U.S. Capitol following last week’sdeadly riot.
Once on the House floor, the two freshman lawmakers vehemently defended Trump’s false election claims while voting against his second impeachment.
Boebert forcefully alleged her Democratic colleagues had called for violence, though she didn’t name or source any of the quotes she referenced. The Colorado lawmaker then said Democratic lawmakers' recent calls for unity under President-electJoe Bidenwere “bull crap.”
Greene was criticized for wearing aCOVID-19mask that said “CENSORED” on it, while she spoke during the nationally televised vote. After Trump was impeached —again— Greenevowedto file her own impeachment charge against Biden, 78, for “abuse of power,” even though the president-elect hasn’t yet been in power.
“Imagine having to go to work with this person,” Rep. Don Beyer, a Democratic representative from Virginia,quippedthis week on Twitter.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
“Something is a conspiracy theory until somebody with authority says it authoritatively,” Kinzinger told PEOPLE last November. “When they do that, it becomes a reality to people. If you look at civilizations in history that have fallen, they fall in many cases because people believe things that may just not be true.”
While there’s yet to have been major funding or coordination linked back to last Wednesday’s deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol,reportshave pointed to theinsurrection attemptmustering support on far-right social media websites in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6.
This week, Twittersaidthat it had suspended more than 70,000 accounts sharing QAnon conspiracies, which “has the potential to lead to offline harm.”
source: people.com
