密歇根州兰辛——周三，密歇根州最高级别的共和党人之一坚持他的错误主张，即指责当时总统的支持者是一个“骗局”唐纳德·特朗普1月6日在美国国会大厦发生的致命暴乱。
参议院多数党领袖迈克·谢尔基(Mike Shirkey)在密歇根州参议院与民主党副州长加林·吉尔克里斯特二世(Garlin Gilchrist II)的私人对话中表示:“坦率地说，我不会收回我试图提出的任何观点”，而是“我选择的一些话”。他说围攻是“非常真实的，但原因的分配——这是提前几周和几个月计划的。”
谢尔基周二在2月3日的一个长达一小时的会议视频发布后道歉，他在视频中告诉共和党人，国会大厦的围攻“不是特朗普人”。从第一天起这就是个骗局。这都是事先安排好的。”他质疑为什么没有更多的安全措施，并建议“上演”的活动是“从高层进行的”，声称当时的美国参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔“是其中的一部分”。...他们想搞得一团糟。”
声明没有具体说明他道歉的内容，周三会议结束后，他也没有对记者发表讲话。
这场争议是谢尔基和共和党在一个竞争激烈的州更广泛参与的最新一次争议。在这个州，乔·拜登以15.3万张选票获胜，但特朗普继续掌权。谢尔基因去年会见准军事组织领导人和参加与极端分子的集会而受到抨击，几周前，武装人员进入州议会抗议民主党州长格雷琴·惠特莫尔(Gretchen Whitmer)的冠状病毒限制。一些人后来被指控参与了绑架州长的阴谋。
希尔斯代尔县(Shirkey所在的地区)的共和党领导人在2月4日指责他支持在州议会禁止公开携带枪支，并声称他对惠特莫尔的新冠肺炎命令无动于衷。谢尔基反驳说，共和党人“狠狠地打了她一巴掌”，他开玩笑说，他曾考虑邀请惠特莫尔在国会草坪上打一架。
周三早些时候，Shirkey告诉自由派团体进步密歇根州的一名活动家，他说这场骗局是“归咎于特朗普的事实”。实际事件非常真实，非常非常不幸。”他说他不会辞职。
当被问及谢基是否应该下台时，州长告诉美联社，她关注的是这场流行病。
她说:“我没有时间和精力去纵容任何人对我个人进行阴谋论甚至暴力威胁。”。“我将继续专注于我的工作。任何一个真正想解决这些重要问题并想在这些方面展现领导力的立法者，都会在我身上找到一个愿意合作的伙伴。”
吉尔克里斯特说，他认为谢尔基的最新声明“相当令人不安”，但也不足为奇，他说这“与他对州长发表的更广泛的言论有关”。
“我当然认为需要一些责任，坦率地说，这取决于他的核心小组，”他告诉美联社。“如果密歇根共和党想成为这样的政党，那就要由共和党来选择。”
特朗普的第二次弹劾审判正在进行中。民主党人表示，前总统应对煽动闯入国会大厦并中断总统选举计数的暴徒负责。五人死亡，包括一名警察。
Shirkey对争议并不陌生。
2019年，他在对州长的描述中使用了“蝙蝠”和“疯狂”两个词，外加一句脏话。在她最近的国情咨文演讲后，他说她不戴面具看起来“令人愉快”。谢尔基在12月下旬感染了新冠肺炎，他称之为“中国流感”，民主党人说这是种族主义。
众议院议长、共和党人杰森·温特沃斯(Jason Wentworth)表示，谢基的最新评论“是他自己的，不反映我的感受或信仰。令人失望的是，这种情况分散了我们每天正在做的重要工作。”
杰夫·蒂莫尔是特朗普的直言不讳的批评者，他曾是密歇根州共和党的执行董事，他在推特上说，在谢基被取代为领导人之前，捐助者应该停止向所有与参议院共和党有关的委员会捐款。自由派呼吁赞助周三为Shirkey的一个政治行动委员会举行的筹款活动，每个委员会支付1000至5000美元，以切断联系。
密歇根州蓝十字蓝盾公司的发言人说，该活动是在保险公司意识到Shirkey的声明之前安排的。该公司的PAC是六个黄金赞助商之一。
“我们深感失望，并强烈反对他对国会大厦暴乱的评论...以及他对州长的不当言辞。
Top Michigan Republican stands by Capitol 'hoax' comments
LANSING, Mich. -- One of Michigan's highest-ranking Republicans on Wednesday stood by his false claims that it is a “hoax” to blame supporters of then-President Donald Trump for the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In a private conversation with Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II in the Michigan Senate that was captured by the chamber’s video feed, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said: “I frankly don't take back any of the points I was trying to make” but rather “some of the words I chose.” He said the siege was “very real, but the assignment of cause — that was planned weeks and months in advance.”
Shirkey apologized Tuesday after the release of an hourlong video of a Feb. 3 meeting in which he told Republicans that the siege at the Capitol “wasn't Trump people. That's been a hoax from day one. That was all prearranged.” He questioned why there was not more security and suggested the “staged” event was “done from high,” claiming then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “was part of it. ... They wanted to have a mess.”
The statement did not specify the remarks for which he was apologizing, and he did not speak to reporters following the session on Wednesday.
The controversy was the latest involving Shirkey and the GOP more broadly in a battleground state that Joe Biden won by 153,000 votes but where Trump continues to hold grip. Shirkey came under fire for meeting with paramilitary group leaders last year and attending a rally with extremists, weeks after armed men entered the Statehouse to protest Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's coronavirus restrictions. Some were later charged i n a plot to kidnap the governor.
GOP leaders in Hillsdale County, which is in Shirkey's district, censured him Feb. 4 for backing a ban on the open carry of guns in the Statehouse and his alleged inaction against Whitmer's COVID-19 orders. Shirkey countered that Republicans had “spanked her hard" and he joked about having contemplated inviting Whitmer to a fist fight on the Capitol lawn.
Earlier Wednesday, Shirkey told an activist with the liberal group Progress Michigan that he was saying the hoax was “the fact that it was blamed on Trump. The actual event was very real and very, very unfortunate.” He said he would not resign.
Asked if Shirkey should step down, the governor told The Associated Press she is focused on the pandemic.
“I do not have the time or energy to indulge anyone in terms of conspiracy theories or even threats of violence against me personally,” she said. “I'm going to stay focused on my job. Any legislator who actually wants to get these important issues done and wants to show some leadership on those fronts will find a willing partner in me.”
Gilchrist said he found Shirkey's latest statements “quite disturbing" but also unsurprising, saying it “connects to the broader rhetoric that he's been spewing toward the governor.”
“I certainly think there needs to be some accountability and that's up to, frankly, his caucus," he told AP. “That's up to the Michigan Republican Party to choose if that's the kind of party they want to be.”
Trump's second impeachment trial is underway. Democrats say the former president was responsible for inciting the mob who broke into the Capitol and interrupted the presidential electoral count. Five people died, including a police officer.
Shirkey is no stranger to controversy.
In 2019, he used the words “bat” and “crazy,” plus an obscenity in his description of the governor. After her recent State of the State speech, he said she looked “delightful” without a mask on. Shirkey, who caught COVID-19 in late December, referred to it as the “Chinese flu," which Democrats said was racist.
House Speaker Jason Wentworth, a Republican, said Shirkey's latest comments “are his own and don't reflect my feelings or beliefs. It's disappointing that this situation is detracting from the important work we are doing every day.”
Jeff Timmer, a vocal Trump critic who once was executive director of the Michigan GOP, tweeted that donors should stop giving to all Senate Republican-related committees until Shirkey is replaced as leader. Liberals called for sponsors of a Wednesday fundraiser for one of Shirkey’s political action committees, who paid $1,000 to $5,000 each, to cut ties.
A spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, whose PAC was among six gold sponsors, said the event was arranged before the insurer became aware of Shirkey's statements.
“We are deeply disappointed and strongly disagree with (his) comments about the riot at the Capitol ... as well as his inappropriate language about the governor,” Andy Hetzel said.
