- The January 6 committee released a video of Josh Hawley fleeing the Capitol after pumping his fist at the mob.
- Fellow GOP Sen. Mitt Romney told Insider that the video was not Hawley's "greatest moment."
- The former presidential candidate reportedly once told Hawley that he bore responsibility for the riot.
GOP Sen. Mitt Romney said that a video of fellow Republican Sen. Josh Hawley fleeing the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not a good look for the Missouri lawmaker.
"You know, I haven't heard what his explanation is, but obviously that was not his greatest moment in that hearing," Romney told Insider at the Capitol on Tuesday.
Romney has previously been critical of efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and pleaded with Republican senators to withdraw their objections to Pennsylvania and Arizona's electoral results following the riot. Nonetheless, Hawley sustained his objections, and told Fox News over the weekend that he has "no regrets" about that day.
During the January 6 committee's primetime hearing last Thursday, Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia displayed security camera footage of the freshman Missouri senator running out of the Capitol.
"Earlier that afternoon before the joint session started, he walked across the East Front of the Capitol," said Luria, displaying a now-infamous photo of Hawley giving the mob a fist pump. "As you can see in this photo, he raised his fist in solidarity with the protesters already amassing at the security gates.
Luria said that a Capitol Police officer present at the time told the committee that Hawley "riled up the crowd" and that it "bothered her greatly, because he was doing it in a safe space."
"Later that day, Senator Hawley fled after those protesters he helped rile up stormed the Capitol," Luria said. "See for yourself."
The committee then played the security camera footage, leading the hearing room to erupt in laughter.
This is not the most blistering comments Romney has made towards Hawley. According to The Washington Post, Romney confronted Hawley once senators had been evacuated to a secure location. "You have caused this!" he reportedly said.