QAnon congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘embraced violence online’

A Republican congresswoman who filed articles of impeachment against US President Joe Biden previously endorsed violence against Democratic leaders.

Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene addresses journalists as she goes through security outside the House Chamber at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

A Republican congresswoman who filed articles of impeachment against President Biden previously endorsed violence against Democratic leaders.

Marjorie Taylor Greene was elected to represent Georgia in the House of Representatives in November, making her the first open supporter of the QAnon conspiracy cult in Congress.

She has since championed Donald Trump’s discredited claims that the election was “stolen”, been suspended from Twitter for spreading disinformation about the vote and initiated impeachment proceedings against Mr Biden for “abuse of power”.

I just filed Articles of Impeachment on President @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/mcwEEkKiHL

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) January 21, 2021

Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a terrorism bulletin warning of the potential for violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after the election.

It did not cite a specific threat, but was concerned about the potential for homegrown violent extremism.

Republican leaders in Washington were already struggling to fend off a revolt by the Trump-supporting wing, which has gathered momentum in recent days with a slew of votes by state and county branches condemning prominent Republicans seen as opponents of the former president.

A total of 56 per cent of Republican voters believe that Mr Trump should probably or definitely run for president again in 2024 and 30 per cent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters would be more interested in supporting a notional third party set up by Mr Trump than the Republican Party, according to a Politico-Morning Consult poll.

My statement on introducing Articles of Impeachment against President @JoeBiden: pic.twitter.com/1mq7QRBbTX

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) January 21, 2021

Ms Greene, 46, has become an additional problem for the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill after investigation of her social media activity before running for office showed she had encouraged commenters calling for the death of Democratic politicians and FBI agents.

In a Facebook post from 2019 discovered by CNN she “liked” a comment proposing a “bullet to the head” of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House. In 2018 she replied to a comment that asked if we now “get to hang” Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton by posting: “This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off.”

In a 2018 Facebook post exposed by Media Matters for America she approved of a post advocating a conspiracy theory that Mrs Clinton was filmed murdering a child during a satanic ritual and then ordered the killing of a policewoman to cover up the crime.

A spokesman for Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House, said that Ms Greene’s comments were “deeply disturbing” and that he “plans to have a conversation” with her.

Ms Greene wrote on Twitter that the reports were part of an attempt “to cancel me and silence my voice”.

— THE TIMES