'Are you crazy?' Lifelong Republican assaulted by MAGA rioters slams Jan. 6 defenders
A lifelong Republican who was attacked by Donald Trump supporters at the Jan. 6 insurrection doesn't understand how other members of his party can justify the U.S. Capitol riot.
Prince George’s County Cpl. Scott Ainsworth testified at the trial of Jesse James Rumson, the so-called "Sedition Panda," about his violent assault by Trump supporters trying to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's election win, and he told the court that he still hasn't come to grips with being attacked by his fellow Republicans, reported NBC News.
“I’m a Republican, these are my fellow Republicans,” Ainsworth said.
Some of the Republicans in his life want nothing to do with him due to his service on Jan. 6, 2021, and he's frustrated by GOP support for the rioters who violently attacked him.
“Are you crazy?” Ainsworth said. “This was stupid, it was not necessary.”
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Rumson, who wore the head from a panda bear costume while storming the Capitol, was convicted Friday during a bench trial of assaulting Ainsworth, and U.S. District judge Carl Nichols said evidence of the assault was "crystal clear" and rejected some of Rumson's arguments as "absurd."
The Trump-appointed judge has been one of the most lenient in Jan. 6 cases, but he found no reasonable doubt that Rumson knew he was not allowed inside the Capitol, especially after he was placed in handcuffs but remained on the grounds for 90 minutes after he was freed and then attacked Ainsworth.
Nichols said the evidence showed Rumson listened to all of Trump's speech at the Ellipse before going to the Capitol, where he saw rioters and police fighting before he went inside.
"His conduct at the Capitol was no accident," Nichols said.