Why would GOP lawmaker invite Big Lie truther to Missouri State Capitol on January 6?
According to Missouri state Rep. Ann Kelley, the Republican lawmaker from Lamar forgot that Thursday is the anniversary of last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
It was by sheer coincidence, she says, that Kelley reserved the rotunda at the Missouri State Capitol for a rally hosted by Douglas Frank, a teacher from Ohio who claims he can prove the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. Can prove, he says, but never has.
“I didn’t think about it,” Kelley told me when asked why she chose Thursday to host a rally led by Frank. He spoke Tuesday in Osage County and is the featured guest Wednesday at a dinner put together by Kelley in Jefferson City. The Missouri General Assembly reconvenes the same day, which left Thursday as the only option for the rally, Kelley said.
Frank is an interesting choice to host a gathering to commemorate one of the nation’s darkest days.
He is a big peddler of the Big Lie, a Trump-led talking point embraced by conservatives to cast doubt on whether President Joe Biden was legally elected. He was. And no evidence has ever been presented to say otherwise. There is no proof to suggest “phantom voters” circumvented election results, as Frank falsely believes.
Here’s an idea: Keep dinner plans with Frank on Wednesday but cancel the rally planned for the rotunda.
Top ranking members of the GOP have declined to participate, including Gov. Mike Parson and Secretary of State Jay Aschoft, who has repeatedly said our state’s 2020 election was not compromised.
Missourians, and the country as a whole, must use that day to remember the assault on democracy, not highlight someone who falsely claims the election was stolen.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 9:18 AM.
