GOP's Lauren Boebert has long history of palling around with right-wing extremists
Newly elected Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has been dogged by her association with right-wing extremists since entering politics, but the gun-toting restaurateur-turned-lawmaker's associations are raising new concerns after the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The Colorado Republican has denied suggestions that she led reconnaissance tours in the days before the Jan. 6 insurrection, but there's plenty of evidence that she pals around with militia members and other extremists, reported The Daily Beast.
Members of the Three Percenters gun militia provided security last summer for Boebert during a congressional campaign event in Pueblo, and a since-deleted Facebook post claims they'd been invited by the campaign, and militia member Robert Gieswein -- who was arrested for his role in the insurrection -- posed for a 2018 photo of himself and three other armed men outside Boebert's bar Shooter's Grill.
Boebert told Gunpowder Magazine that Edwards Wilks, who's been identified as a member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, had been her mentor on gun-rights theories, although he has denied an association with the loosely organized anti-government group.
Although Wilks wasn't involved in the Capitol siege, several Oath Keeper members have been charged in the insurrection or are wanted by the FBI for their roles in the attack.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes published open letters demanding Trump use military force to overturn his election loss ahead of the insurrection.
There's been no evidence so far that Boebert assisted the insurrectionists, as has been claimed on social media, but there's ample evidence that she promoted the idea that Trump supporters could take action to overturn an election she claimed had been stolen.
Boebert posted debunked conspiracy theories about voting machines and was aligned with "Stop The Steal" groups that encouraged Trump supporters to travel to Washington, D.C., to prevent the congressional certification of Biden's win.
The GOP lawmaker was among 147 Republicans who objected to the election results, and she warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the certification that her constituents were gathered outside shortly before the rioters burst into the building.