Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘I objected’: CPAC crowd cheers Josh Hawley for trying to block election results

‘Maybe you heard about it’ says GOP senator condemned for inspiring attack on Capitol

Alex Woodward
New York
Friday 26 February 2021 21:33 GMT
Comments
‘I objected’: CPAC crowd cheers Josh Hawley for trying to block election results
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A crowd at the nation’s largest right-wing summit cheered for US Senator Josh Hawley as he announced that he objected to results from the 2020 presidential election after a deadly insurrection at the Capitol among Donald Trump’s supporters fuelled by his lie that the election was stolen from them.

“On January 6 I objected to the Electoral College certification – maybe you heard about it,” he said to a standing ovation at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida on Friday. “I stood up, I said, ‘We ought to have a debate about election integrity’.”

He said “the left” has tried to “cancel me, censure me, expel me, shut me down” for his decision to try to block Electoral College results.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Several panel discussions and keynote remarks at the 2021 CPAC have sought to relitigate or amplify lies about the 2020 presidential election, including speeches from high-profile Republicans and right-wing figures raising questions about “election integrity” after the former president’s loss.

Read more: Follow live updates from CPAC

Matt Schlapp, chair of the CPAC-hosting American Conservative Union, told CNN ahead of the conference that “we’re going to spend a lot of time going through what happened in the states.”

“Just because you fail in court doesn’t mean you don’t have a good case,” he said.

Friday’s lineup also included remarks from Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Rick Scott, who also sought to reject Electoral College votes to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Mr Hawley was the first senator to announce that he would reject election results as he repeated the false assertion that some states did not follow election laws in the 2020 election.

His home state paper condemned his decision, saying he had “blood on his hands” for “inspiring one of the most heartbreaking days in modern American history.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in