Republicans in the Oregon House on Wednesday took the extraordinary step of distancing themselves from their state party, after party officials passed a resolution labeling the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol a 鈥溾�榝alse flag鈥� operation.鈥欌��
A statement signed by all 23 House Republicans noted that 鈥渢here is no credible evidence to support false flag claims.鈥� It suggested the state party鈥檚 Jan. 19 resolution that said the Capitol attack might have been 鈥渄esigned to discredit President Trump, his supporters and all conservative Republicans,鈥� has become a distraction.
鈥淥regon is in crisis,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淰accines are not going to our most vulnerable, our students are still not in a safe classroom setting, main street businesses are in a tailspin, our health data is a mess and here we are, talking about a political party resolution.鈥�
The statement goes on to reiterate that the caucus is concerned with addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic first and foremost. 鈥淭he election is over,鈥� it said. 鈥淚t is time to govern.鈥�
Later Wednesday, state Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, issued his own statement splitting with the state party on the matter.
鈥淚 have not seen any credible evidence to suggest that the riot at the United States Capitol was a 鈥榝alse flag,鈥� and I do not support the Oregon Republican Party鈥檚 resolution,鈥� Knopp said. 鈥淚 find it disheartening that while Oregonians are struggling, these political distractions get in the way of helping them recover.鈥�
Little remarked on at first, the Oregon GOP鈥檚 resolution has received increasing scrutiny in recent days, landing the state party attention from national outlets for officially endorsing a conspiracy theory. Many of those reports have led with the 鈥渇alse flag鈥� claims, as well as the party鈥檚 contention that the attack was a way to set up a 鈥渟ham impeachment鈥� against Trump for inciting violence and to allow Democrats to assume 鈥渢otal power.鈥�
But the resolution鈥檚 actual purpose was somewhat different: to castigate 10 Republicans in Congress for voting to support that impeachment.
The resolution was approved not by Republican lawmakers, but by officials who sit on the executive committee of the Oregon Republican Party. According to party bylaws, that 22-person group is made up largely of top party officials and chairs and vice-chairs from the state鈥檚 five congressional districts.
But the executive committee is also supposed to include one Republican member of the House. It was not immediately clear Wednesday who that member is, or whether they voted on the Jan. 19 resolution.
At least one Republican, state Rep. Bill Post of Keizer, had criticized his party鈥檚 position before the Wednesday release.
鈥淧ress releases condemning Republican Representatives from other states does nothing to win seats in here in the Oregon House or Senate鈥�..nor does it help Republicans win the Governor鈥檚 seat in 2022,鈥� Post wrote on his personal blog Tuesday. 鈥淟et鈥檚 get our focus off of the national news and on to the state of Oregon.鈥�
At the same time, one member of the state party committee has a close working relationship with one House Republican. The party鈥檚 secretary, Becky Mitts, is chief of staff to Republican Rep. Mike Nearman, according to her LinkedIn profile. Nearman has recently come under fire, after surveillance footage revealed he allowed far-right demonstrators to breach the locked state Capitol building on Dec. 21.
Despite the backlash from lawmakers, the state party is standing by its resolution. Party Chair Bill Currier issued a statement to OPB on Wednesday evening, saying he agrees legislators should be focused on local matters.
But Currier added that it is 鈥渢he state party鈥檚 job to speak out鈥� about its concerns over national events.
鈥淲e have a difference of opinion over whether 鈥榗redible鈥� evidence is emerging regarding potential false flag occurrences on Jan 6th,鈥� Currier said. 鈥淲e are continuing to monitor news reports, the FBI statements, and other eyewitness sources until we have all the facts.鈥�
Wednesday鈥檚 statement from House Republican lawmakers is just the latest criticism the Oregon GOP has gotten in recent days.
The Northwest office of the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement about the resolution Tuesday, specifically addressing part of the document that linked to a Wikipedia article referencing the Reichstag fire, a 1933 arson attack on Germany鈥檚 parliament building that helped Adolf Hitler consolidate power.
Oregon GOP Condemns Betrayal by the Ten House Republicans Who Voted to Impeach President Trump
鈥� Oregon GOP (@Oregon_GOP)
The Anti-Defamation League called the comparison 鈥渙ffensive鈥� and 鈥渁bsurd.鈥�
鈥淭he violence at the US Capitol on January 6th was a large-scale physical assault on our nation鈥檚 democratic values and institutions perpetrated by right-wing conspiracy theorists, extremists, and supporters of former President Trump. That is a fact,鈥� the ADL wrote.
The civil rights organization also said Oregon Republicans were misusing history when referencing the Reichstag fire to 鈥渁dvance a baseless conspiracy theory.鈥�
鈥淪uch a comparison cheapens one of the most significant moments leading up to Holocaust and is extremely inappropriate,鈥� the organization wrote.
Beyond the absurd assertion that the violence at the Capitol was a 鈥渇alse flag鈥�, the offensive comparison to the 1933 burning of the Reichstag is a gross misuse of history & cheapens a significant moment leading up to the Holocaust.We urge to rescind its resolution.
鈥� ADL Pacific NW (@ADLPNW)
While most federal Republican representatives did not support the effort to impeach Trump, the Northwest did have some notable exceptions. Washington state Republican Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse were .
Oregon鈥檚 Republican Party compared them to Revolutionary War traitor Gen. Benedict Arnold. But the state party did have kind words for freshman Rep. Cliff Bentz, who represents Oregon鈥檚 2nd Congressional District and .
The GOP also said Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader was accurate in comparing the second impeachment effort against Trump to a 鈥渓ynching.鈥� Schrader and .
