Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said that the inmates arrested in connection to the January 6 insurrection clapped, cheered and cried when she recently visited them in a Washington D.C. jail.
"They saw me and they just started yelling and cheering and clapping and crying," the Georgia Republican said in an interview with the right-wing One America News Network (OANN). "Looking in their eyes was like looking at people who thought that they were forgotten and they had lost hope."
Greene visited the jail last week with Texas Representative Louie Gohmert. She said the jail had repeatedly refused her previous requests to visit the inmates. She called the part of the jail containing the inmates the "Patriot Wing."
Greene claimed that some of the inmates are "suffering" from a lack of medical care. One man with a "circulatory problem" reportedly had a hand that is "completely purple" and a thumb that is "turning black," she told OANN.
"I mean, this is the kind of situation where someone could lose their hand," Greene said.
She also claimed that another inmate had a broken finger. Yet another man with celiac disease, a digestive illness in which the small intestine reacts badly to gluten, allegedly hadn't eaten in five days because the jail had no gluten-free dining options, she said.
The congresswoman added that the inmates salute a handmade U.S. flag and sing the national anthem at 9 p.m. every night. "They sang the national anthem, more patriotically than any other American I've ever heard sing the national anthem," Greene said.
The representative called the inmates "political prisoners" last week on War Room, the podcast of former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
In the interview, she alleged that the U.S. government is "abusing," torturing, and committing "human rights abuses" against the inmates. She claimed that the inmates are facing conditions worse than those faced by the "terrorists" detained in Guantanamo Bay.
In a series of tweets about her visit to the D.C. jail, Greene wrote, "I've never seen human suffering like I witnessed last night.... I'll never forget hearing their screams."
She wrote on Twitter that she is "beginning a plan for real prison reform."
Those arrested in connection to the January 6 riot were suspected of trespassing on Capitol grounds while attending a protest-turned-riot. Several arrestees have said they were following the orders of former President Donald Trump to stop Congress from "stealing" the 2020 election by certifying now-President Joe Biden's win.
Trump's former attorney general, his former head of U.S. cybersecurity infrastructure, as well as multiple statewide audits and 60 court cases by Republicans, have all concluded that there's no evidence that the 2020 election was stolen.
Five people died during the January 6 riot and roughly 140 police officers were injured. The police injuries include a broken spine, a lost eye, lost fingers, brain damage and multiple cases of PTSD. Two Capitol Police officers have died by suicide since the riot.
While ransacking the Capitol, the rioters shattered windows while trying to access congressional chambers, smeared feces in a hallway and stole computer equipment, potentially constituting a national security breach.
Correction (11/9/2020, 4:30 p.m.): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Greene's office had been reached for comment. The office has since been contacted for comment.
