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HuffPost: “Kent, who is hoping to unseat Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), wants to pardon many convicted Capitol rioters.”
Election denier and MAGA extremist Joe Kent is yet again facing controversy – this time for accepting campaign donations from two convicted January 6 insurrectionists.
Kent, “a Donald Trump loyalist who has indulged in conspiracy theories about the attack that day and suggested most of the imprisoned rioters deserve pardons,” refused to answer questions about his campaign accepting money from rioters who carried weapons into the Capitol, accosted officers, and called for executing the former vice president.
Between his connections to white supremacists and his rampant conspiratorial nature, Joe Kent is simply too busy living in delusion to represent Washingtonians.
DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
“Not only is insurrectionist sympathizer Joe Kent perpetuating dangerous lies and pandering to criminally indicted insurrectionists — he’s accepting their cash, too. Southwest Washington deserves a representative who will fight to address their needs and get things done across the aisle, not spread conspiracy theories in the halls of Congress as Kent would.”
HuffPost: 2 Convicted Jan. 6 Rioters Donated To MAGA Republican Joe Kent
Daniel Marans | March 14, 2024
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Two federally convicted participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol contributed to the congressional campaigns of Republican Joe Kent, a Donald Trump loyalist who has indulged in conspiracy theories about the attack that day and suggested most of the imprisoned rioters deserve pardons.
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That donation followed the Department of Justice’s conviction of Rhine in April on four misdemeanor charges related to his conduct at the riot. Those charges were: entering or remaining in a restricted federal building; disorderly conduct in a restricted federal building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and demonstrating in a Capitol building. Rhine, who was carrying two pocketknives and pepper spray when he entered the Capitol, was sentenced to four months in prison in September.
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Sheppard — [who] was sentenced to 19 months in prison — entered the Capitol through a smashed window, crossed multiple police lines aimed at stopping the mob’s advance, and yelled at officers guarding the speaker’s lobby just outside the House chamber, according to the DOJ. “I’m here with some goddamn heroes, and we just shut down Congress!” he recorded himself saying in a video at the time. “They called an emergency session, they said we’re too scared, they’ve shut down Congress. Let’s fucking go!”
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Three days later, according to the DOJ, Sheppard wrote a message about the then vice president on social media, saying that “[w]e shouldn’t hang Mike Pence. Firing squad!”
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In late January, HuffPost reported that during the 2022 election cycle, Kent had received $8,600 in donations from Carlos Ayala, an alleged Jan. 6 rioter. His campaign told HuffPost that it would not return Ayala’s donations, because Kent respected his right to due process. “Mr. Ayala is innocent until proven guilty,” said Erin Van Natta, a Kent campaign spokesperson.
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Sheppard and Rhine, however, have been convicted in federal court. Kent’s campaign did not immediately reply when asked Thursday whether he would return the donations.
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Kent has endorsed many of the election-denying conspiracy theories promoted by Trump. He has insisted that the 2020 election was “rigged” and “stolen,” embraced the unfounded notion that the FBI orchestrated the Capitol riot, and promoted Trump’s 2024 presidential run as a way to ensure pardons for an untold number of Jan. 6 defendants he sees as unfairly accused.
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