Former California Representative Dana Rohrabacher said that he was in attendance at the rally on Jan. 6 before the Capitol Hill riot began.
In an interview with the Portland Press Herald, Rohrabacher said that he had participated in a “peaceful march” towards the Capitol, but claimed that he did not enter the building when rioters went inside.
Rohrabacher then repeated false and baseless claims of election fraud as his reasoning.
“I marched to protest, and I thought the election was fraudulent and it should be investigated, and I wanted to express that and be supportive of that demand,” Rohrabacher said. He added that he did not support the storming of the Capitol. (RELATED: Trump Allies Create Organization To Combat Voter Fraud)
The ex-congressman insists he was “not there to make a scene” https://t.co/ZvhxM5Tigs
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 15, 2021
The former representative was first identified through the Twitter account “@capitolhunters” which posted a picture of Rohrabacher standing with another man during the day, The Washington Examiner reported.
“We knew [Orange County] would send their finest, and here he is, the highest-profile #seditionVIP yet: former U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher,” the tweet read in part.
#SeditionHunters – Thursday’s arrest of Alan Hostetter highlighted extremism in Orange County, CA, but even he is junior-league. We knew OC would send their finest, and here he is, the highest-profile #SeditionVIP yet: former U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA 42). 1/ pic.twitter.com/yJDdR5aR4T
— capitolhunters (@capitolhunters) June 12, 2021
Rohrabacher had also attended the so-called “Stop the Steal” rally in December of 2020 to promote those same false claims that the election had been stolen from then President Trump, despite there being no evidence to support those claims.
Earlier this month, Oregon lawmaker Mike Nearman was ousted from his position after video surfaced of him helping protesters breach the Capitol, making him the first member of the legislature to be removed from office.