Josh Hawley trashed by hometown paper for 'stunt' that led to Jan. 6 'MAGA madness'

On the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection where supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an attempt to keep Congress for certifying the 2020 presidential election results, the editors of the St. Louis Post Dispatch editorial page pointed the finger at Missouri Republican Josh Hawley who helped set the stage for the national crisis.

According to the editors, the Jan. 6 riot might never have happened if the Missouri GOP senator had not pushed the idea that the election was stolen and announced his intention to oppose the will of the voters.

In a brutal editorial, the editors noted that the now four-times indicted Trump spent the days after losing the election sulking and complaining that the election was stolen, but it was Hawley who lit the fuse that led to the Jan. 6 riot — all in the service of raising his profile.

"Trump’s gaseous lies might have merely dissipated into the atmosphere had it not been for Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who was the first senator to object to ballot results," they wrote.

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They then added, "That damnable, self-serving stunt is what made it necessary for Congress that day to debate the undebatable legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory — thus providing a time-and-place target for the MAGA madness of Jan. 6."

After pointing out Trump's "culpability" for ramping up his MAGA supporters who then stormed the nation's Capitol, the editors wrote there is plenty of blame to spread around.

"Scores of Republicans in both houses of Congress — most of whom are still there — joined Hawley in his attempt to disenfranchise millions of Americans by blocking certification of valid election results. Later, most House Republicans refused to join the successful impeachment vote against Trump, then the Republican-controlled Senate refused to convict," they wrote.

"The story of Jan. 6 isn’t over. Trump’s anti-democracy rhetoric has only grown more corrosive since Jan. 6, including calls to jail his enemies, use the military against protesters and suspend the Constitution," they added before concluding, "If Jan. 6 should have taught America anything, it’s that it almost did happen here — and that it still could."

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