REVEALED: PA GOP Senate primary candidate Kathy Barnette caught marching on Jan 6th with Proud Boys
The already highly-contentious Pennsylvania Republican senatorial primary contest was thrown into further disarray today with the disclosure that Kathy Barnette — the “Ultra-MAGA” candidate recently surging in the polls — marched on January 6th, 2021 from the “stop the Steal” rally towards the U.S. capitol alongside a group of men later verified to be members of the Proud Boys.
Running for the GOP nomination against the Trump-endorsed celebrity TV doctor, Mehmet Oz and the former hedge fund executive, David McCormick, the far-right Barnette has positioned herself as the only true MAGA candidate in the race with populist roots in the state and a real “America First” agenda.
With Dr. Oz’s tenuous ties to the state that he’s running to represent (despite actually living in New Jersey) and McCormick’s taint of Wall Street elitism, Barnette has emerged as the dark-horse candidate who could pull off an upset as big as Rich Strike, the underdog 80-1 winner of the Kentucky Derby.
The revelation of her participation in the January 6th march — even though there is no evidence that Barnette ever actually entered the Capitol Building with the Proud Boys — could affect the closely watched Republican Party primary, although it’s uncertain, given her base of right-wing extremists, whether it would hurt or help her candidacy.
Barnette’s participation in the march alongside the Proud Boys was first posted to Twitter by writer Chad Loder.
Left: GOP Senate candidate Kathy Barnette marching with the Proud Boys on their way to storm the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021.
Right: Barnette wearing the same jacket, Oct 31, 2020 at a rally in Trooper, PA. pic.twitter.com/hC7O5MqAN8
— Chad Loder (@chadloder) May 15, 2022
NEW: Video of GOP candidate for Senate Kathy Barnette marching with the Proud Boys on their way to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.
You can see Barnette at 0:37 wearing her signature jacket, hat, and gloves. [source: Parler archive y4K5OwDPuupA] https://t.co/P8wihoIpYR pic.twitter.com/vrFtbvYPNp
— Chad Loder (@chadloder) May 15, 2022
I found GOP candidate for Senate Kathy Barnette in at least 2 separate Jan 6 videos, marching alongside Proud Boys on their way to storm the U.S. Capitol.
I don't have Barnette inside Capitol grounds. Does anyone recognize the bearded man in the camo hat who's next to Barnette? pic.twitter.com/76R2WdHBx5
— Chad Loder (@chadloder) May 15, 2022
Loder’s investigatory work was quickly verified by NBC News which also managed to get a response from Barnette’s campaign about the new discovery of her marching partners.
Her campaign's response:
“Kathy was in DC to support President Trump and demand election accountability.
Any assertion that she participated in or supported the destruction of property is intentionally false.
She has no connection whatsoever to the proud boys." 2/4— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) May 16, 2022
No connection, outside of marching alongside them, it seems.
NBC News quoted Barnette expressing her feelings about the January 6th insurrection, and they are about as outrageous as one would expect from someone sitting far to the right of Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate.
“I feel about January 6, the way the left feels about the summer of 2020 when you have Black Lives Matter and Antifa and other groups out there looting and robbing and everyone was calling it mostly peaceful protests,” Barnette told NBC News in an interview.
The Justice Department’s record of convictions and guilty pleas surrounding the invasion of the Capitol Building suggests otherwise.
Luckily, the public only needs to await the outcome of tomorrow’s Pennsylvania primary election to find out whether the last-minute revelation about Barnette will help or hurt her chances of a victory and a subsequent major embarrassment for Donald Trump if Dr. Oz is defeated.
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