At Least 9 GOP Lawmakers Refused To Wear Masks During The Capitol Lockdown
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) announced Monday that she has tested positive for COVID-19, pointing to a day spent locked down with colleagues who refused to wear masks as a likely point of contraction.
“Following the events of Wednesday, including sheltering with several colleagues who refused to wear masks, I decided to take a Covid test. I have tested positive,” she tweeted.
When a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters overtook the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, officials rushed a number of lawmakers, reporters and staffers into a protected, undisclosed location, away from the danger.
More than 100 people were in the room together for as long as several hours, a source who was there told HuffPost.
At least nine Republican House members were not wearing masks for extended periods of time, according to the source as well as video of the lawmakers. They included:
Andy Biggs (Ariz.)
Mo Brooks (Ala.)
Michael Cloud (Texas)
Matt Gaetz (Fla.)
Paul Gosar (Ariz.)
Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.)
Doug LaMalfa (Calif.)
Markwayne Mullin (Okla.)
Scott Perry (Pa.)
Punchbowl News published video Friday showing Biggs, Cloud, Greene, LaMalfa, Mullin and Perry in the room, refusing to wear masks offered by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.).
“I’m not trying to get political here,” Mullin said.
“Congresswoman Greene is a healthy adult who tested negative for COVID at the White House on 1/4,” a Greene spokesperson told HuffPost. “She does not believe healthy Americans should be forced to muzzle themselves with a mask. America needs to reopen and get back to normal.”
Greene is a backer of the QAnon conspiracy theory that asserts Trump is fighting a “deep state” cabal of child traffickers. She has made videos promoting racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim views.
Mark Spannagel, LaMalfa’s chief of staff, did not comment on LaMalfa’s lack of a mask. Instead, he blamed Democrats for the leak of the video to Punchbowl News, and criticized House Speaker Nancy...
