Greene granted permission to enter 'patriot wing' of DC jail to visit Jan. 6 defendants
By Sarakshi Rai - 11/05/21 11:09 AM EDT
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) was finally granted access late Thursday night to enter the D.C. Department of Corrections to visit accused Jan. 6 rioters after months of trying.
Her office confirmed her visit in a statement, saying she had visited the "patriot wing" of the D.C. Jail on a three-hour tour and spoken directly with the accused Jan. 6 rioters.
Her office added that Greene was granted access only after "months of requesting access with letter after letter and call after call."
Greene took to Twitter to describe the visit and said Friday, "I have never seen human suffering like I witnessed last night."
She further said that when she asked to see the Jan. 6 accused defendants while at the jail, she was told that "it was not a part of her tour."
However, Greene said she "demanded" to see them and "would have gone scorched earth if I was not allowed and was making it known."
When she was finally allowed to visit the accused Jan. 6 rioters, she said, "It was like walking into a prisoner of war camp." She said the prisoners couldn't believe "someone had made it in to see them."
"They are suffering greatly. Virtually no medical care, very poor food quality, and being put through re-education which most of them are rejecting," Greene tweeted.
The D.C. Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Hill has reached out to Greene's office for further comment.
Greene and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) had attempted to enter the jail on Wednesday, but were stopped at the entrance by a corrections worker.
"What are you hiding? Really, what are you hiding?" Greene was seen asking the corrections worker in a video.
Early Thursday afternoon, Greene tweeted out a letter she and Gohmert had written to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), demanding access to the jail. The letter was co-signed by Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).
"As duly elected Members of Congress tasked with funding, oversight, and authority over the District, we find no justifiable reason that would prevent us from inspecting these facilities," the letter read.
Greene's visit comes a month after a federal judge found D.C. corrections officials in contempt over the treatment of a Jan. 6 defendant and referred the matter to the Department of Justice for a civil rights investigation into whether other Capitol riot defendants are facing similar conditions.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered that a Jan. 6 defendant diagnosed with cancer be transferred to another prison after an inspection at a D.C. jail found that prisoners were living in "deplorable" conditions.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/580249-marjorie-taylor-greene-granted-permission-to-enter-dc-jail-to-visit-jan-6
