On Friday, former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney tweeted her outrage at Trump embracing a Capitol riot defendant during a campaign stop at a diner.
On Thursday night, during an appearance at the Red Arrow Diner in New Hampshire, Trump met Micki Larson-Olson, a supporter of QAnon conspiracy theories, for the first time. Larson- Olson took part in the Jan. 6th, 2021, Capitol insurrection and was even imprisoned for her role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. On January 6th, 2021, a number of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to block the certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Larson-Olsen in particular had called for Vice President Mike Pence’s execution on that day.
She was sentenced last September and served more than 160 days. During that time, she was frequently confined in places with further restrictions due to her refusal to follow pandemic protocols. Larson-Olson has argued that despite all this, she would do the same thing for Trump again if she had to.
On Thursday, Larson-Olson drove to New Hampshire from Abilene, Texas to meet Trump. During the encounter, she embraced the former president, who is currently running again in 2024. Trump called her a “terrific woman” and signed her backpack while advising her to “just hang in there.”
Cheney took to Twitter on Friday to share an old interview between NBC News reporter Hillyard and Larson-Olsen. As she points out, Trump was embracing a Jan. 6th Defendant who had called for the punishment of members of Congress. She added that elected Republicans that have endorsed Trump are essentially supporting his actions on Jan. 6th and every day since.
