Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to visit Jan. 6 riot defendants in prison
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on March 03, 2023 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Ima
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Republicans on the House Oversight Committee say they are planning to visit several jails housing suspects accused in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Greene told ABC News that she and committee chair James Comer plan to send a letter this week about the visit to a detention facility in Washington, D.C.
The Georgia lawmaker said the visit would be focused on the conditions of those jails, claiming she has received "reports of abuse."
"They're pretrial and they haven't even been convicted and they're not allowed to see their families, many times are not allowed to see their attorneys -- the food has been a major complaint," Greene told the news organization. "There's been complaints of it tasting like cleaner."
Nearly 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot. More than 500 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. Approximately 400 have been sentenced, with over half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.
ABC News reported in 2021, the U.S. Marshals Service inspected the facility holding the Jan. 6 defendants and "did not identify conditions that would necessitate the transfer of inmates."
Greene has previously received controversy with her remarks about the riot, telling the New York Young Republicans Club "if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, we would've been armed."
In response, White House spokesman Andrew Bates released a statement saying that Greene's comments go "against our fundamental values as a country."
The congresswoman fired back on social media, saying she was being sarcastic in her remarks by making fun of President Joe Biden and Democrats who she says have made her a political target.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.