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Daily Show reporter clashes with Capitol Hill MAGA protesters: ‘We are gonna clean this place out, one way or another’

‘You can tell these people really love America by the number of weapons they brought to hurt other Americans,’ Klepper says

Rachel Brodsky
Los Angeles
Wednesday 13 January 2021 10:39 GMT
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The Daily Show's Jordan Klepper covers the Capitol Hill riots

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The Daily Show reporter and comedian Jordan Klepper has become well known for covering pro-Trump rallies, and he was in the crowd when a right-wing mob descended on Capitol Hill last week.

In his latest instalment of “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse”, the correspondent spoke to a number of insurrectionists, one of whom was holding a pitchfork and another rolling by on a Segway. At one point, someone appeared to physically assault his cameraman.

The video begins with Klepper satirically asking passersby where the sedition is being held and moves onto him inquiring whether one attendee would support President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on 20 January. 

“Do you think it's possible that a president who never pulled above 50 per cent lost the election [and] is sore about it?,” he asked two women, who shook their heads saying, “Absolutely not”.

“You can tell these people really love America by the number of weapons they brought to hurt other Americans,” Klepper remarked sarcastically, passing by a crowd of Proud Boys.

Speaking to a man holding a pitchfork and shouting, “We are gonna clean this place out, one way or another,” Klepper asked the man why he felt the need to hold a farming tool at a political rally.

“We're not asking for violence right now,” the man said.

“I gotta tell ya, from the movies I've seen, the hoards of people holding the pitchforks are usually the bad guys,” responded Klepper.

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As the crowds grew larger and more violent, Klepper followed the group up toward the Capitol building. At one point, his cameraman was pushed to the ground by a rioter, who can be heard yelling that he – not the cameraman – had been assaulted.

“Trump's fake, tough-guy military are literally throwing themselves on the ground to perpetuate victimhood,” Klepper concluded.

Once loud bangs begin to ring out, Klepper makes a swift exit, saying, “Thunder? Cannon? Tear gas? Let's not wait to find out.”

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