This GOP congressman begged Mark Meadows to 'urge' Trump to 'invoke' martial law: text messages
Former President Donald Trump and allies’ attempted coup and the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building was egged on by a number of Republicans. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, in December 2021, even recommended that Trump declare martial law in order to remain in the White House. And Flynn isn’t the only Trump supporter who had martial law in mind. According to the January 6 select committee, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina had the same idea.
In an article published by Rolling Stone on December 13, journalist Charisma Madarang reports that in late 2020 and early 2021, then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was in touch with “34 members of Congress” via text messaging about Trump’s efforts to remain in power. Meadows, according to Madarang, was forced to “hand over 2319 text messages to the House select committee.” And in one of them, dated January 17, 2021, Norman recommended martial law.
January 17, 2021 was 11 days after the January 6 insurrection and only three days before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. In that text message to Meadows, Norman wrote, “Mark, in seeing what’s happening so quickly, and reading about the Dominion law suits attempting to stop any meaningful investigation we are at a point of no return in saving our Republic !! Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!”
Norman referred to martial law as “Marshall law” in his texts, and so did Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
“By January 17,” Madarang writes, “Greene told Meadows that several Republicans in Congress wanted Trump to declare martial law. She, too, appeared to think giving power to the military was named after a person named Marshall.”
Greene, in a text, told Meadows, “In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law. I don’t know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!”
READ MORE: Nothing spells 'big government' better than GOP 'Big Lie' embrace of martial law
- 'Heist': Ginni Thomas tells January 6th Select Committee that the 2020 election was stolen ›
- Trump’s lawsuit against Jan. 6 committee is a sideshow — they've already won the war ›
- House Republicans are 'out for blood' and planning revenge against the Jan. 6 committee: report ›
- U.S. Marshals Service battles aftermath of 'major' security breach that compromised sensitive info: report - Alternet.org ›
