Looking back to 2021, conservatives need to remember where Ben Shapiro stood as America grappled with the fallout of the January 6 Capitol protest.
Shapiro, then still posturing as a right-wing thought leader, did not defend the civil liberties of pro-Trump patriots swept up in the federal dragnet. Instead, he called for them to be stripped of their rights and imprisoned by the Biden administration.
During that time, Shapiro told a panel on Real Time with Bill Maher that about 1,000 protestors “will end up rotting in prison, as they should.” He insisted: “Forty-thousand people did not assault the Capitol. There were maybe 1,000 people. That is not making light of the evil of those people, who all will end up rotting in prison, as they should.”
While Shapiro was echoing the establishment line, a handful of Republican lawmakers actually stood up against the brutal treatment of January 6 defendants. During that time, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared on Newsmax to call the prosecution “outrageous,” describing Jan. 6 defendant conditions as worse than those for illegal immigrants. “These January 6th defendants are being treated like political prisoners of war,” Greene said.
On the House floor, Rep. Matt Gaetz sought answers about “14,000 hours of tape” withheld from the public, raising the possibility that deep state informants or federal agents could have played a role in igniting the violence. He charged: “Whether they were connected in any way, directed any way—by federal agencies. It raises great suspicion that we are unable to get access to this information as members of Congress.”
As the conservative movement continues to debate the legacy of January 6, it’s essential to remember Ben Shapiro’s role in cheering on the destruction of due process and siding with the regime crackdown—while true America First lawmakers fought for basic civil rights.
