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Marjorie Taylor Greene Signaled Approval For Executing Top Democrats Before Seeking Office

This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Jan 26, 2021, 05:50pm EST

Topline

Freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a pro-Trump lawmaker who has been embraced by House GOP leadership based on a false belief she has renounced the QAnon conspiracy theory, was embroiled in controversy yet again on Tuesday after CNN’s KFILE unearthed Facebook posts in which she expressed support for executing prominent Democrats.

Key Facts

Greene liked a Facebook comment from Jan. 2019 arguing “a bullet to the head would be quicker" for removing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in addition to liking comments about executing FBI agents seen as working for the “deep state,” according to the report.

Asked by one commenter in 2018 how they can “hang” former President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Greene replied "Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off."

Greene tweeted a statement calling the CNN report a “hit piece on me focused on my time before running for political office” and claiming she’s had “teams of people manage my pages. Many posts have been liked. Many posts have been shared. Some did not represent my views.”

Greene did not deny liking or replying to the specific posts CNN reported on, instead accusing the outlet of “taking old Facebook posts from random users to try to cancel me and silence my voice.”

A spokesperson for Greene noted the posts were from before she ran for office but declined to comment further, referring Forbes to the statement she posted to Twitter.

Key Background

Greene’s presence on social media has been a point of major controversy ever since she catapulted into the national spotlight for her extreme views. During the campaign, she came under fire even from GOP leaders for racist Facebook posts and an interview in which she espoused a 9/11 conspiracy theory. In September, she posted a photo of herself holding a gun stating she wants to go on “offense” against several Democratic lawmakers. 

Tangent

Greene was temporarily suspended from Twitter last week for calling Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling a “moron” and “little” after he blamed Republican losses in Georgia on the baseless election fraud conspiracy theories pushed by Greene and other Trump allies.

Crucial Quote

“Our party is very diverse. You mentioned two people who are going to join our party, and both of them have denounced QAnon,” House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said of Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) in November, calling for them to get an “opportunity.” 

Surprising Fact

Despite McCarthy’s assurances, Greene has not distanced herself from the conspiracy theory, which posited that former President Donald Trump was working with “Q,” an anonymous government official, to bring down a child sex trafficking ring run by Democrats and Hollywood actors. She even espoused some of its most extreme aspects in social media posts.

What To Watch For

Republican leaders have not shown any signs of plans to cut Greene loose despite her many controversies. She has taken the initiative to position herself as one of the Biden administration’s fiercest opponents in the House, even filing dead-on-arrival articles of impeachment against Biden just one day into his term.