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The Republican Party's new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government posted a clip of Rihanna's dancers from her Super Bowl halftime performance to troll the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), suggesting the agency would "monitor Catholics at Mass."
What the New York Times described as "the marquee committee of the new Republican majority" has produced little to no evidence of government misconduct or targeting of former President Donald Trump and other far-right figures. Instead, it's been deployed as another arm of the Republican-led House of Representatives to undermine or discredit federal agencies.
The tweet, which you can see below, uses footage of Rihanna's dancers moving into formation during her Super Bowl halftime performance while wearing what look like HAZMAT suits.
\u201cThe FBI coming to monitor Catholics at mass.\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
The subcommittee is a new branch of the House Judiciary Committee, which is currently chaired by Ohio Republican Representative Jim Jordan and whose official Twitter account has made headlines more than once for often inflammatory tweets.
Attorney Ron Filipkowski, who has made a career out of monitoring right-wing extremism, opined that the new "very serious" subcommittee only "exists to provide twitter trolling material for Jim Jordan."
\u201cSo, basically this very serious committee to investigate very serious things exists to provide twitter trolling material for Jim Jordan.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1676256107
Others soon criticized the subcommittee—and Jordan—for the incendiary tweet.
\u201c@Weaponization And people said this committee would be a joke\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
\u201c@Weaponization Thank you for confirming that this is a parody account.\n\nOr are you confirming that this is a parody committee???\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
\u201c@Weaponization I\u2019m glad this will solve inflation and lower my grocery bill.\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
\u201c@Weaponization If anyone is still wondering why any investigation by these clowns shouldn\u2019t be taken seriously, here it is.\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
\u201c@Weaponization You make a mockery of legitimate religious persecution. You should be ashamed.\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
\u201c@Weaponization Real serious work this committee is doing \ud83d\ude44\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
\u201c@Weaponization Who would ever have thought that the Party of Ronald Reagan would say this about the @FBI?\n Just remarkable \ud83d\ude44\u201d— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization Committee) 1676255830
At its first hearing, the subcommittee aired grievances from as far back as the 2016 news cycle—former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard complained she'd been "smeared" by Hillary Clinton—in addition to rehashing conservative fears of censorship against the far-right on social media, the impacts of "partisan media," and even COVID-19 restrictions.
The Times reported that Jordan has "promised new findings in the weeks ahead" and has even gone so far as to subpoena the Department of Justice (DOJ) for documents related to an investigation into whether the government mistreated parents who were scrutinized for making threats against school officials over mask mandates and efforts to teach children about racism.