White House condemns Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'violent' remarks on Capitol riot organization

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Fox News' senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports.

The White House on Monday condemned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for suggesting over the weekend that the Capitol riot "would’ve been armed" if she and former President Trump aide Steve Bannon had been involved in the planning, and said her "violent rhetoric" is a "slap in the face" to law enforcement.

However, the Republican congresswoman is firing back, defending her remarks as "sarcasm" and told Fox News she will "never allow the White House, Democrats, or the media to continue to accuse me of something I had nothing to do with." 

Over the weekend, Greene, R-Ga., speaking at the New York Young Republicans Club gala, took a swipe at those who claim she was involved in organizing the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

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"Then Jan. 6 happened, and next thing you know, I organized the whole thing, along with Steve Bannon here," Greene said during remarks at the gala. "And I will tell you something, if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., took a swipe at those who claim she was involved in organizing the Capitol riot. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool, File)

She added, "Not to mention, it would’ve been armed."

Greene then described those claims as a "joke." 

"They say that whole thing was planned, and I’m like, are you kidding me? A bunch of conservatives, Second Amendment supporters, went in the Capitol without guns, and they think that we organized that?" she said.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claims her Capitol riot remarks were a "joke." (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The White House, on Monday, slammed Greene and denounced her rhetoric.

"It goes against our fundamental values as a country for a Member of Congress to wish that the carnage of January 6th had been even worse, and to boast that she would have succeeded in an armed insurrection against the United States government," White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Monday.

"This violent rhetoric is a slap in the face to the Capitol Police, the DC Metropolitan Police, the National Guard, and the families who lost loved ones as a result of the attack on the Capitol," Bates said.

He added that "all leaders have a responsibility to condemn these dangerous, abhorrent remarks and stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law."

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On Monday, Greene fired back, telling Fox News, "The White House needs to learn how sarcasm works." 

"This violent rhetoric is a slap in the face to the Capitol Police, the DC Metropolitan Police, the National Guard, and the families who lost loved ones as a result of the attack on the Capitol," the White House said. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

"My comments were making fun of Joe Biden and the Democrats, who have continuously made me a political target since January 6," she said. "Every day, I receive violent threats against my life simply because Democrats and the media have lied and smeared my character for the past two years." 

Greene said that includes "threats resulting in actual arrests with criminal charges and threats against my home in an attempt to have me killed." 

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Greene said she "will never back down" from her support of the Second Amendment. 

"And I will never allow the White House, Democrats, or the media to continue to accuse me of something I had nothing to do with," she said.