- Lindsey Graham said Jan. 6 that rioters “should have been shot in the head,” according to Politico, citing Michael Fanon’s new book.
- “I don’t understand why that didn’t happen,” Graham said in the book.
- The comments were made during a May 2021 meeting with a group of officers, Politico reported.
A new book by Lindsey Graham, obtained by Politico, offers advice on how officers should respond to the Jan. 6 Capitol shooting.
The GOP South Carolina senator made the comments during a meeting with the group last May, the agent reported.
“You guys should have shot them all in the head,” Graham said in former D.C. police officer Michael Fannon’s book, “Hold the Line: The Insurgency and One Cop’s Battle for America’s Soul,” to be published Oct. 11.
“We gave you men’s guns, and you should have used them,” Graham adds in the book. “I don’t understand why that didn’t happen.”
According to Politico, the deceased officer Brian Syknik, as well as Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Fanon’s family were present during the speech. Fanon, who was shocked by gunfire and beaten with a flagpole during the riot, responded to Graham by saying that officers should follow the rules about using deadly force.
Trump supporters storm the US Capitol building as Congress certifies the 2020 presidential election. The attack led to the evacuation of lawmakers as they attacked the police as they advanced towards the historic building.
According to a Washington Post report, Graham, who supported Trump’s baseless claims, blamed officers at the scene of the chaotic attack.
“He yelled at the Senate sergeant-at-arms. What are you doing? Take over the Senate! You’ve got guns. Use them,” Graham said.
