Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and a pair of Democratic lawmakers offered two different stories following their visit to a Washington, D.C. jail where January 6 defendants are being held.
After the visit, Greene confirmed her suspicions on the inhumane treatment of the defendants, while the Democrats accused Republicans of lying about the conditions.
"What we saw today is exactly what we've known all along — it's a two-tiered justice system, and there's a very different treatment for pre-trial January 6 defendants and the inmates or, you know, other charged defendants and inmates," Greene said. "These men are being held, their due process rights were violated, and they have been mistreated."
On the contrary, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) sang a different tune, claiming the Republicans treated the inmates "like celebrities."
"Marjorie Taylor Greene was already telling lies about the conditions of the facility and said that there was no insurrection on January 6. The inmates that we saw were being treated fairly. They have 24 hr medical care, computer tablets & access to communicate with family," Garcia claimed. "When we saw the inmates, my Republican colleagues rushed to them and treated them like celebrities rather than people who attacked our capitol police and our very democracy."
Garcia was one of two House Democrats that joined a congressional delegation led by Greene to the facility. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) also attended.
The Democrat used race to defend his claim, saying the January 6 defendants are being held in much better conditions than Black inmates are.
Meanwhile, Crockett said she witnessed "privileged people" in the jail.
However, Greene did admit there were a few changes to the prison since her last visit, such as it was cleaner, but noted that the inmate was ordered to "clean up, scrub the floors, scrub the bathrooms, scrub their cells and paint the entire area."
The Georgia Republican said they could not tour the entire facility but were able to talk to the defendants, where the group was told stories of how they were being denied medical treatment and assaulted. Some also claimed they were being threatened with rape as the guards laughed.
The lawmaker's field trip comes one day after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) met with the mother of Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to enter the Capitol during the J6 protests.
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