Jan. 6 convict embraces Trump at campaign event, calls for Pence's execution
A woman who served time in prison for her involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection embraced former President Trump at a campaign rally in New Hampshire on Thursday before later saying that former Vice President Mike Pence and "every single" member of Congress who certified the 2020 election should be executed.
After QAnon supporter Micki Larson-Olson was pointed out to Trump as a “Jan. 6-er” by the crowd at a packed diner, Trump sought her out, calling her "terrific," telling her to “hang in there” and giving her a hug, video shows.
Larson-Olson said in an NBC News interview the next day that Trump is the “real president” and that she "would like a front seat of Mike Pence being executed."
“The punishment for treason is death, per the Constitution,” Larson-Olson said. “I believe every single person, every single person that stole a voice from our collective voice of 'We the people, of the people, for the people, by the people,' deserves death, and no less than that.”
Larson-Olson was arrested after climbing scaffolding on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the Justice Department. She was sentenced to six months in jail in September.
During the Capitol riot, she wore a Captain America costume, waving flags and resisting efforts from Capitol Police to remove her from the scaffolding, hanging onto it with her arms and legs. It took six officers to restrain her, with the release saying she screamed and fought the officers as she was apprehended.
She also called the officers “traitors,” the Justice Department said.
"My only regret is that I wasn’t stronger, that I couldn’t hold on longer," she told NBC, adding that she drove 2,600 miles from Abilene, Texas, to attend the New Hampshire campaign event.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
Trump and some of his close allies have embraced those arrested during the Jan. 6 attack.
Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of representatives visited Jan. 6 defendants at their D.C. jail. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), the Trump ally who led the GOP half of the group, chastised their conditions, while Democrats on the trip said the defendants were being treated fairly.
Last year, Trump said he would look “very, very seriously” into pardoning those convicted of crimes related to the insurrection if he is reelected.
Trump is the favorite for the 2024 GOP nomination, according to recent surveys.
Pence, who polls well behind his former boss, is considering joining the Republican presidential primary as well.
—Updated at 2:07 p.m.