U.S. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene stood in the rain last week to announce a bill to defend the rights of non-violent protesters following the persecution of Jan. 6 defendants.
The Georgia congresswoman is the only one doing so and pleaded with her political colleagues to join her in support of the Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2024 at the press conference in front of the Capitol building on Wednesday. She slammed them for failing to back legislative reforms to block “political prosecutions” of non-violent protesters.
“Her Matthew Lawrence Perna Act is named after Matthew Perna, a 37-year-old Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, man who committed suicide while waiting to be sentenced for non-violently entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when riots suspended the certification of President Joe Biden’s election,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“His family said that the government’s plan to add more charges to his case pushed him into depression, and he committed suicide,” the media outlet added.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Holds a Press Conference on the Introduction of the “Matthew LawrencePerna Act of 2024.” https://t.co/4ExP2f4FKZ
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 28, 2024
Greene began the press conference by reading Perna’s suicide note, “I sacrificed my freedom when I entered the Capitol building on January 6th and, in despair, took my own life the night that I wrote this…”
“Rep. MTG’s Matthew Lawrence Perna Act is named after Matthew Perna, a 37-year-old Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, man who committed suicide while waiting to be sentenced for non-violently entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when riots suspended the certification of President Joe…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 29, 2024
The bill was originally introduced in 2022 by former Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas). The current legislation is a copy of that bill. It would allow a change of venue to move trials for protesters out of Washington, D.C. citing the fact that a fair trial cannot be had there. Over 90% of voters in the nation’s capital vote Democrat and have enthusiastically called for the prosecution of those who participated in Jan. 6 incidents.
According to the Washington Examiner, “Greene said that even former President Donald Trump, who has promised to pardon some of those convicted in Jan. 6 cases, would benefit by having his 2020-election-related trial in Washington moved.”
“At an outdoor press conference, Greene appeared with Perna’s aunt, Geri Perna, who joined in condemning congressional members for not cosponsoring the legislation. Later, she wrote on X, ‘Thank you @RepMTG for being the ONLY Republican in congress who gives a sh-t about the J6ers!’” the outlet wrote.
Greene pointed out that even though Republicans have torn into the findings of the Democratic House Jan. 6 investigation, they haven’t stood up and backed her bill.
“I’m just so frustrated here. You know, last Congress, I called it the ‘House of hypocrites.’ And I think the name still applies,” she told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
This is why the Matthew Perna Act is so important for President Trump and J6 defendants to move trials out of DC in order to receive a fair trial.
You can’t find a jury of your peers in DC if you are a Republican and Nikki Haley no longer counts! pic.twitter.com/1XDB5dMgcF
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 4, 2024
The bill would prohibit the detention of nonviolent political protesters. It would also ensure the observance of other fundamental due process rights, including the right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment. Consistent sentencing guidelines are also addressed. The scope of unconstitutional governmental surveillance and investigation is covered as well.
But the centerpiece of the legislation would permit “the transfer of venue in criminal trials for nonviolent political protesters in Washington, D.C.”
Greene is hopeful that once former President Trump is reelected, the issue will get more attention in Congress.
“You know how this game works. It won’t become important to Republicans on the Hill until President Trump is in the White House and is actually doing something about it,” Greene charged.
The congresswoman has visited Jan. 6 defendants in prison numerous times and has been an outspoken supporter of them.
She was joined at the press conference by Cynthia Hughes, founder of the Patriot Freedom Project, an organization that raises money in support of January 6th victims and their families. Edward Martin, President of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles joined Greene as well.
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Author: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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