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- Adam Kinzinger said Kevin McCarthy dismissed his warnings that Republican rhetoric would provoke violence days before the Capitol riot.
- Kinzinger said McCarthy responded to his concerns with, 'Ok Adam, operator next question.'
- Kinzinger is accusing McCarthy and many other Republican lawmakers of intentionally sweeping the riot under the rug.
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Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, said on Monday that House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy dismissed his warnings that Republican rhetoric would provoke violence just days before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
"A few days before Jan 6, our GOP members had a conference call. I told Kevin that his words and our party's actions would lead to violence on January 6th," Kinzinger tweeted on Monday morning. "Kevin dismissively responded with 'ok Adam, operator next question.' And we got violence."
Kinzinger has accused many of his colleagues of deliberately spreading dangerous lies about voter fraud to appease former President Donald Trump and excite the party's base.
He's one of just a few Republican members of Congress publicly expressing support for Rep. Liz Cheney as the party prepares to vote her out of leadership over her criticism of Trump. Both Kinzinger and Cheney are calling for an investigation into the Capitol riot.
Kinzinger pointed out during a Sunday interview that McCarthy has changed his messaging on the Capitol riot. After initially blaming Trump for provoking the violence, McCarthy recently defended Trump's response to the attack.
"Liz Cheney is saying exactly what Kevin McCarthy said the day of the insurrection," Kinzinger told Face the Nation. "She's just been consistently saying it. And a few weeks later, Kevin McCarthy changed to attacking other people."