January 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson kicks off remarks with slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, and lynching

That didn’t take long. January 6 select committee chair Bennie Thompson gave the opening remarks of the committee’s prime-time hearing, and within minutes, we were hearing about not January 6, but slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, and lynching.

House select committee chair Bennie Thompson: "I'm from a part of the country where people justify the actions of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan and lynching."

"I'm reminded of that dark history as I hear voices today try and justify the actions of the insurrectionists." pic.twitter.com/UnDKsiBK9I

— ABC News (@ABC) June 10, 2022

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, invoked the horrors inflicted on Black people during slavery and by the KKK in his opening remarks. https://t.co/VZRMYeNEkF pic.twitter.com/879WmdXYeE

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 10, 2022

Chair @BennieGThompson kicks off the #January6thCommitteeHearings by comparing the Capitol riot to the KKK and slavery, and accuses unnamed people — this is with no public testimony yet, mind you — of trying to justify the riot

— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) June 10, 2022

After just one minute in, Jan 6th committee Democrat Rep. Bennie Thomson compares Jan 6th defenders to people defending "slavery, ku klux klan, and lynching” .

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 10, 2022

"Slavery, the Klu Klux Klan, and lynching. Things that have nothing to do with this hearing, but we want you to think about them, and associate them with our enemies. Because we think you're really, really stupid, and will believe anything we tell you."

Sadly, they're right.

— Focus on the Idea⭐️ (@FocusOnTheIdea) June 10, 2022

Bennie Thompson’s opening remarks about the peaceful transfer of power rings a little hollow since he personally tried to stop George W Bush’s electoral college vote counting. https://t.co/g3GnOdqorv

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) June 10, 2022

On January 6, 2005, J6 Committee Chairman Thompson took a very different position on objecting to election results by…objecting to election results. When does he get accused of attempting a coup? https://t.co/2sR7A754Ix

— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) June 10, 2022

So, they’ve already drawn a parallel between white supremacy and the storming of the Capitol.

Related:

WaPo reports that January 6 committee aides ‘sought to temper expectations of any shocking revelations’ https://t.co/OQV7xHiYaB

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 9, 2022