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Monday, November 22, 2021
MRC Now Denies Jan. 6 Insurrection Was An 'Insurrection'
Topic: Media Research Center

The Media Research Center is getting in line with its right-wing, pro-Trump contemporaries who want to downplay the events of Jan. 6. It's now in revisionism mode, insisting that it wasn't an "insurretion."

An Aug. 28 column by right-wing movie reviewer devoted to attacking Stephen Colbert declaring that the Afghanistan withdrawal was "the first of several body blows against the far-left propagandist. This week also saw a damning report saying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot weren’t an insurrection, nor were they egged on by President Donald Trump or any other body." Toto linked to a Reuters article about an FBI report claiming there was little evidence the Jan.6 riot was "the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result." The word "insurrection" appears nowhere in the article, and Toto didn't explain why there has to be an "organized plot" for it to be called an "insurrection." But the article also noted that "FBI investigators did find that cells of protesters, including followers of the far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys groups, had aimed to break into the Capitol," though they allegedly lacked "serious plans about what to do if they made it inside."

On the basis of that report -- even though it showed there was some level of coordination happening -- the MRC began downplaying the events of Jan. 6 were an "insurrection," mostly by putting scare quotes around the word:

  • In his Sept. 25 column, Jeffrey Lord complained that the media was "suppressing footage that shows the actual events on the 'insurrection' story"; Lord did not back up his claim.
  • Catherine Salgado wrote in an Oct. 5 post that in a Senate hearing about Facebook, Sen. Amy Klobuchar "claimed that lack of censorship by Facebook during the 2020 election process facilitated the 'Jan. 6 insurrection' at the Capitol."
  • Kristine Marsh wrote in an Oct. 11 post about Hillary Clinton appearing on "The View" that "Co-host Sara Haines started out worrying that Trump’s attempts to 'delegitimize President Biden’s win,' caused the 'insurrection on January 6.'"
  • An Oct. 24 post by Marsh repeated the false narrative that parents who merely speak out at school board meetings are being portrayed "as radical rioters who were like the January 6 'insurrectionists.'"

Jay Maxson took his (or her) own approach in an Oct. 13 post featuring Donald Trump whining that a New York City borough is ending its management deal with the Trump Organization of a local golf course stated that one writer said "the golf course seizure stems from the events of the Jan. 6 'insurrection' at the U.S. Capitol." In fact, there is no "seizure"; the city owns the course and is seeking to end the management deal because the riots associated with the Trump name have tainted the course.

Maxson then declared that "The FBI has previously declared there was no insurrection in D.C. that day, but news filters slowly through the mayor’s office and Mediate." Maxson linked to a right-wing Washington Examiner summary of the Reuters article on the FBI, prefaced by a dictionary definition of "insurrection," which claims "an organized attempt by a group of people to defeat their government and take control of their country, usually by violence." Again, the FBI never used the word "insurrection" let alone specifically denied that's what happened on Jan. 6, and the FBI has shown that there was some level of organization happening.

But neither the Examiner nor Maxson define the prcecise level of coordination they're using to avoid calling Jan. 6 an "insurrection." It looks like right-wingers are playing games with language to downplay what happened.


Posted by Terry K. at 9:34 PM EST

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