Last Updated on July 27, 2021
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis ignored the concerns of a constituent about the treatment of political prisoners from the Capitol protests in a letter, and instead repeated false claims that Officer Brian Sicknick “died in the line of duty.”
Matt Braynard, a former strategic director for President Trump’s successful 2016 campaign, posted to Twitter late Monday night a letter from North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, supposedly in response to a constituent who was concerned about the persecution of political prisoners from the Capitol Hill protests on January 6th. National File has reported extensively on abuse conducted against those locked up in relation to the protests, including being claims they have been coerced into getting the COVID-19 vaccine to avoid inhumane treatment:
Conditions of the jail have been widely condemned due to the abuse and dystopian nature of the COVID-19 restrictions. Inmates were restricted from shaving, trimming their toenails, or getting a haircut, only to be provided with a chemical hair remover which many were unable or unwilling to use due to burning of the skin. Inmates were not allowed to receive visits from their lawyers and families, and were only allowed to contact them virtually or over the phone.
They were restricted from library services, therefore having no access to reading material to pass the time while incarcerated. Inmates have had their trial dates extended for weeks and even months. Inmates’ lawyers have reported mental and verbal abuse, threats, and violent beatings that have left prisoners with permanent injuries. According to a relative of one of the detainees, the political prisoners sing the National Anthem every night at 9 p.m. to “keep spirits up among men who have been in jail for months and may not have their day in court until sometime next year.”
Instead of addressing these worries, Tillis instead decided to label the protests as “one of the darkest days” in the history of America, describing those who peacefully entered the Capitol as a “violent mob” of “criminals” who assaulted “the very foundations of our Constitutional Republic.” Despite the fact that many videos exist of the police simply letting many protestors into the building, Tillis claimed they were instead “overwhelmed,” and that “over 135 law enforcement officers from the USCP and DC Metropolitan Police were injured during this vicious attack.”
Read this response from Senator @ThomTillis to a constituent inquiring about the abuse of political prisoners.
Can you count the lies?
I urge citizens of NC to educate their Senator. https://t.co/RcvF7wWOMK pic.twitter.com/OFzxCID0iQ
— Matt Braynard (@MattBraynard) July 26, 2021
Tillis then proceeded to claim that the protestors “left six people dead in their wake,” including “a USCP officer who died in the line of duty,” referring to Officer Brian Sicknick. Sicknick actually died of natural causes from two strokes, and was not labelled as a homicide by the DC Medical Examiner. The only death that was a homicide was that of Ashli Babbitt, who notably was killed by a law enforcement officer, not a protestor. Earlier this month, the Capitol Hill Sergeant at Arms seemed to accidentally admit that USCP Lt Mike Byrd was the one who fired the fatal shot. All other deaths were of natural causes or drug intoxication.
https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1419849604045099015
The North Carolina Senator, who won his seat following an exposé from National File about the extramarital affair of his Democrat opponent, Cal Cunningham, did not mention the abuse of protestors at all, and seemed to gleefully delight in the notion that the DoJ and FBI, led by the Biden administration, “will continue to ensure that everyone who participated in this disgusting assault on our democracy is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
While Tillis will likely continue to ignore the calls of his constituents, a number of other Republican Representatives are set to held a press conference on Tuesday discussing the claims. Representatives Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, will be held outside the Department of Justice, with the four of them “demanding answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland on the status of January 6th prisoners and related investigations.” They also signed a joint letter asking Garland to release 14,000 hours of footage that could “potentially exonerate” some of those accused.
