- The Jan. 6 panel said Thursday night that Trump didn't want to punish Capitol rioters.
- Moments later, GOP Rep.
Louie Gohmert told Newsmax he "grieves" for imprisoned Capitol rioters.
Rep. Louie Gohmert told Newsmax that he "grieves" for imprisoned Capitol rioters moments after the latest January 6 committee hearing, which revealed that former President Donald Trump resisted punishing the insurrectionists.
The pro-Trump Texas Republican said on Thursday night that he thought it was unfair how some Capitol rioters are being treated, according to a clip published by The Daily Beast.
"Our January 6 prisoners aren't doing so well, and having been a felony judge it grieves me to see the vendettas," Gohmert told Newsmax.
"As a former felony judge, there are people involved in January 6 that I would have no problem sending to prison. But most of them committed misdemeanors ... It does not bode well for our justice system at all," he added.
Gohmert did not specify whether he was talking about Capitol riot defendants awaiting sentencing in jail or those who had already been sentenced and are serving time in prison.
He also told Newsmax that he was not watching the hearings. But his comments had come moments after the House Capitol-riot committee's latest hearing on Thursday night, in which the panel gave insight into Trump's actions as the violence unfolded on January 6.
The panel showed pre-recorded testimony from former White House officials who said Trump did not make any calls in an attempt to stop the violence, and watched television in the White House dining room instead.
The committee also showed a series of outtakes of Trump's video address the day after the Capitol riot, in which he can be seen resisting holding the rioters to account and calling them "patriots" instead.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the House's select committee, also said the former president "chose not to act" for hours when he did not call off the mob as they gained entry onto Capitol grounds.
Gohmert was among the Republicans who actively promoted Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election. Former Trump aides testified to the January 6 commission that Gohmert sought a pardon from Trump after the riot; Gohmert responded by denying it and calling it "propaganda."
Gohmert has consistently downplayed the Capitol riot, saying in a speech last year that the arrests of insurrectionists were a form of "intimidation" and "tyranny." He's also suggested that the insurrection was a conspiracy set up by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Newsweek reported.
At the time of writing, more than 880 people have been arrested and charged with crimes relating to the Capitol riot. It is unclear how many of them have misdemeanors.
The most serious offenders, including the Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola, are still awaiting sentencing in the Central Detention Facility in Washington, DC.
Last year, Gohmert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried to visit the defendants in that jail, but were denied entry.