The nation continues to grapple with the events of January 6, when a mob of former President Donald Trump's extremist supporters, motivated by his election lies, attacked the United States Capitol to upend the joint congressional session certifying then-President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
The rioters shattered windows, beat police officers, smeared excrement across the walls, ransacked offices, and called for the execution of any elected officials perceived as disloyal to Trump.
In the following months, Republican elected officials and media personalities have scrambled to dismiss the severity of the riots and to promote conspiracy theories absolving the party of culpability.
Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly became the latest voice to join that chorus of denial in recent comments on her podcast.
Kelly said:
"There's no question the media represented this as so much worse than it actually was."
She continued:
"We've all seen the video of people, like, screaming in the face of cops, being totally disparaging, and defecating on the floor of the US Capitol, and lawmakers were understandably afraid, not like [Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saying] 'I need therapy for the rest of my life' afraid, but I could understand it, and I didn't like seeing it at all."
Kelly went on to say that the media used the deadly failed insurrection to malign all Trump supporters.
Her comments were met with immediate backlash, including from Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu of California, who mentioned her in a tweet calling out one of his colleagues for dismissing the riots.
Kelly soon responded, saying people had "no clue" who he was.
He retorted by pointing out she followed him on Twitter.
Kelly's critics applauded the response.
Meanwhile, Kelly continues to face backlash for downplaying the riots.
In just under two weeks, the House Select Committee on the Capitol Riots will hold its first hearing.
