Shirkey falsely claims US Capitol attack was staged, not carried out by Trump supporters
Senate Majority leader Mike Shirkey, the highest ranking Republican elected official in Michigan, recently said he believes the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol was not carried out by supporters of former president Donald Trump, calling the idea a "hoax" and stating that the attack was "staged."
The inaccurate comments from Shirkey, R-Clarklake, were made during a meeting with Hillsdale County Republican Party officials one day before the party censured him for not doing enough to stand up to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and supporting a ban on firearms at the Capitol, among other charges. A video of the meeting was first reported on by Detroit Metro Times.
Shirkey also takes aim several times at the governor in the video, sexualizing her in comments about budget negotiations and saying he contemplated challenging her to a fistfight outside the state Capitol. The Senate leader also acknowledges discussing the general election results during a November meeting with Trump at the White House.
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The YouTube video, posted by the account R.O.A.R. (Reclaim Our American Republic), shows Shirkey meeting with a small group of party officials over the censure vote. Hillsdale County Republican Party Chair Daren Wiseley said Tuesday he met with Shirkey at Spangler's Family Restaurant in Jonesville along with party secretary Jon Smith and party vice chair Lance Lashaway. Smith said he filmed the meeting and posted it on YouTube.
In the video, Shirkey makes a number of false claims about the deadly assault on the Capitol, which left one police officer dead. Hundreds of people stormed the building during a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results for Democratic President Joe Biden.
The crowd invaded the Capitol after leaving a rally where Trump and many surrogates spoke. The House subsequently impeached Trump, determining he instigated the attack.
"That wasn’t Trump people. That’s been a hoax from day one," Shirkey says in the video. "It was all staged," he adds.
In a statement emailed late Tuesday, Shirkey issued a general apology for comments captured on the video. He did not reference any specific comments in the apology.
“I said some things in a videoed conversation that are not fitting for the role I am privileged to serve. I own that," Shirkey said.
"I have many flaws. Being passionate coupled with an occasional lapse in restraint of tongue are at least two of them. I regret the words I chose, and I apologize for my insensitive comments.”
In the video, Shirkey does downplay allegations of voter fraud presented by Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's campaign attorneys. Trump summoned Michigan's legislative leaders to a meeting at the White House in November. While the leaders said they focused on discussing COVID-19 relief, Shirkey in the video says Giuliani was on the phone while the lawmakers sat with the president.
Shirkey said he had to interrupt three times, "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, because he would keep talking. Finally, when he stopped: 'When are you going to file a suit in Michigan?'... He never answered the question."
"There are all kinds of claims and all kinds of circumstances, and all kinds of things that look really strange but I question the veracity of their data and their evidence,” Shirkey also says on the video.
Representatives for newly elected Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser and House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, did not immediately respond to questions.
In reference to Whitmer, Shirkey says "we’ve spanked her hard on budget, spanked her hard on appointments." He also tells the person filiming the exchange, "I did contemplate, once or twice, I did contemplate inviting her to a fistfight on the Capitol lawn...”
"She might whoop your ass," the person responds.
Bobby Leddy, spokesman for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, criticized Shirkey for fueling misinformation.
“It’s disappointing that Sen. Shirkey is spending his time on political potshots, indulging conspiracy theories, and expressing empathy for the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building. Gov. Whitmer is staying laser-focused on keeping people safe and getting Michigan back to work," Leddy said Tuesday afternoon.
"She’s ready to work across the aisle with the Legislature to pass the Michigan COVID Recovery plan to fund vaccinations, support our local schools, and help our small businesses."
There is no credible evidence that the crowd of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol was infiltrated by other political groups. People who participated in the insurrection were known Trump supporters, including Michael Foy, the man from Wixom who is charged with hitting police with a hockey stick during the breach while wearing a Trump flag. Foy had previously attended a rally of Trump supporters in Detroit on Nov. 6 outside the TCF Center where Detroit’s absentee ballots were counted.
Shirkey acknowledged that there were Trump supporters who were part of the mob, but claimed they were not willing participants in the violence. "When you’re in mobs, you can get caught up in the emotion. … Some of those Trump folk just got caught up in the emotion of it," Shirkey says. Ahead of the assault, pro-Trump online platforms were flooded with discussions of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Instead, Shirkey suggests D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and even U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had a role in egging on the violence.
"Hell, Mitch McConnell was part of it," Shirkey says. "I think they wanted to have a mess."
When one of the men meeting with Shirkey asks whether Shirkey thought Bowser was behind the assault on the Capitol, Shirkey replies, "I think she’s just a puppet."
There is no evidence that Bowser or McConnell played any role in orchestrating or supporting the attack, which the two have fervently spoken out against.
During one heated exchange that was captured on the video, Wiseley accuses Shirkey of lying about his record.
"This is why we're here because you're a liar. This is what we're mad about," Wiseley says. "The truth is, you're just another politician who will say one thing to get us off your back."
When Shirkey was told that he would be censured the next day, he said, "I know, I don't give a (expletive)."
On Feb. 4, the Hillsdale County party said it censured Shirkey for supporting banning firearms at the state Capitol building, "complete and utter surrender to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer" in what the party called "her unconscionable and unconstitutional shutdown of small businesses," among a number of other charges.
More:Michigan State Capitol Commission meeting Monday to discuss banning open carry at Capitol
More:Whitmer expresses concern over Senate GOP leader's meeting with self-described militias
Shirkey's censure may have marked a turn in the Senate majority leader's relationship with local leaders in his own party. He is accustomed to criticism from the left, though.
"It is past time to accept the facts. On Jan. 6, 2021, there was an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol," said Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint.
"Republicans need to decide for themselves if they are going to hold their leaders accountable for spreading lies. They will either face the facts now or face the consequences with voters. One thing’s for sure, history will not gloss over this moment."
Whitmer previously has said Shirkey needed to answer "tough questions" after learning that Shirkey met with self-described militia groups to help them with their messaging. On Tuesday, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes called on Shirkey to resign over what she called "his close ties to Michigan militias," citing a recent article in the New York Times that recapped much of the political fighting in the state over the last year.
"Mike Shirkey has proven he is totally unfit to lead and should resign immediately given his recent outrageous assertion that the insurrection and violence at the U.S. Capitol was a hoax," Barnes said in a new statement Tuesday evening.
"Shirkey’s irresponsible actions have endangered public health, put lives at risk and made Michigan a national laughingstock."
Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743 for comments or to suggest a fact-check. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.
Contact Dave Boucher: dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.