Progressive Congresswomen Alexandria Ocaio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota called on Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri to resign on Friday over the Capitol riot—and a new poll shows that most of his constituents want him to leave office immediately.
Pro-Trump protests erupted into chaos as armed supporters stormed the Capitol building after violently clashing with authorities on January 6. The attack left five dead, including a Capitol police officer. Hawley has faced intense backlash for being the first GOP senator to publicly support President Donald Trump's challenge of the 2020 election results.
As he readied to contest Congress certifying President-elect Joe Biden's win, Hawley was photographed raising a fist to protesters in the east side of the Capitol at the time.
"Hey Sen @HawleyMO, I hate to break it to you, but this is, in fact, you. You raised your fist in solidarity with white supremacists who attacked our Capitol," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "While you may politically regret what you've revealed about yourself, you still have no place in public office. Resign."
Hey Sen @HawleyMO, I hate to break it to you, but this is, in fact, you.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 15, 2021
You raised your fist in solidarity with white supremacists who attacked our Capitol.
While you may politically regret what you’ve revealed about yourself, you still have no place in public office.
Resign. https://t.co/Cduo5W35ds pic.twitter.com/Owx4C8iAHY
Omar echoed Ocasio-Cortez's remarks. "Resign!" she tweeted.
Democrats have called Hawley an "insurrectionist" for backing Trump's unverified claims of widespread voter fraud and objecting to Congress certifying the Electoral College results.
A Data for Progress poll, which surveyed 571 Missouri likely voters from January 10 to 12, found that 51 percent of respondents in the state wanted Hawley to "resign immediately"—including 91 percent of Democrats, 52 percent of independents, and 20 percent of Republicans. Meanwhile, 49 percent of respondents didn't think Hawley should resign.
Protesters gathered outside Hawley's office in Missouri on Tuesday as backlash against the lawmaker grew in his home state following the Capitol insurrection.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a labor union, organized the demonstration, during which citizens called for Hawley to resign.
According to KSDK, some protesters said that the Republican had "blood on his hands."
The event came days after the Kansas City Star accused Hawley of having "blood on his hands." Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri also tweeted last week "you do not speak for us ... you have blood on your hands."
Additionally, Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, announced this week that the group will launch a campaign aimed at cutting donations for Hawley.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Schmidt said: "We will be buying full page ads in Missouri papers listing all of the Hawley donors demanding their money back. We will also be buying advertising focusing on the continuing financiers of Hawleys [sic] insurrection and sedition."
Last week, Hawley's office said he would "never apologize for giving voice to the millions of Missourians and Americans who have concerns about the integrity of our elections."
The senator has also condemned the violent Capitol siege: "In this country, in the United States of America, we cannot say emphatically enough violence is not how you achieve change... There is no place for that in the United States of America."
Newsweek reached out to Hawley for comment.
