Lynne Torgerson, a Republican candidate for Minnesota attorney general, said at a recent candidate forum that at least two members of her staff participated in the events of Jan. 6 and described the people who stormed the Capitol as “heroes.”
The comments are a snapshot of wider fractures within the Republican Party over the day’s events. The Republican National Committee recently censured GOP Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their work on the House committee investigating the riot. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the move, as did several Senate Republicans. But Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House Republican Conference’s chairwoman, said the party had “every right to take any action.”
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Torgerson, a former criminal defense attorney in Minneapolis, made the comments at a forum last month for candidates in the GOP primary for attorney general. The remarks were circulated this week by Heartland Signal, a website tied to a progressive talk radio station in Chicago.
MN GOP Attorney General candidate Lynne Torgerson: “At least two people on my staff were participants in Jan. 6.”
Calling the rioters “heroes,” she adds, “It seemed … that the election of Joe Biden was somewhat of a coup and that the person who won was President Trump.” pic.twitter.com/QfCqScVzDa
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) February 10, 2022
“I guess, first, I should note that I have at least two people on my staff who were participants in Jan. 6,” Torgerson said at the event, hosted by the Chisago County Republican Party.
On Jan. 6, then-President Donald Trump addressed a rally near the White House, telling supporters the election was stolen, without evidence. Later that day, as Congress met in a joint session to certify the results, rioters breached the Capitol complex, delaying the certification by several hours. Torgerson did not explain whether her staff participated in the rally, the riot, or both.
Torgerson said “it seemed at that time” that President Joe Biden’s election was “somewhat of a coup.”
“Truth is the person who won was President Trump,” Torgerson said. “And so, I think in a lot of ways, the people at the Capitol on Jan. 6 were heroes and trying to preserve who was actually elected.”
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The winner of the primary will likely face Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the Democratic incumbent, in November.
