PHOENIX — A recent report in Rolling Stone Magazine alleges that Arizona Congressmen Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs were both involved in the planning of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. However, both congressmen have denied the report, calling the accusations baseless and categorically false.
In the report, two unnamed sources told the outlet that Reps. Gosar and Biggs were allegedly among a group of congressmen and staffers who were intimately involved in the planning of the so-called insurrection.
The report is particularly damning against Rep. Gosar.
According to sources in the report, the congressman reportedly promised blanket pardons to those involved in an effort to sign more people up for the rally.
"The Rolling Stone 'story' is categorically false and defamatory," Gosar said in a statement on Monday, denying the report.
The insurrection began shortly after Congressman Gosar challenged Arizona’s 2020 presidential election results on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Ali Alexander, someone who has taken credit for apparently coming up with the idea to storm the Capitol, said in a now-deleted tweet, that he conferred with Reps. Gosar, Biggs, and Alabama congressman Mo Brooks about his plan.
Congressman Biggs has never denied he spoke with people who came to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, who were frustrated with the election results.
In an interview with ABC15 on Jan. 6 prior to the storming of the Capitol, Biggs said of the crowd: “I know that they’re fed up. I know that they’re angry.”
But, he has denied that he was involved in any way with the planning of the event.
His office released a statement that said, in part: “Rolling Stone’s reputation is already tattered and the baseless claims it’s making about Congressman Biggs from ‘anonymous sources’ only calls its credibility further into question."
Republican political consultant Stan Barnes said voters have already moved on from January's events.
“It's been discounted by the political marketplace already," he said.
“The average voter has decided that was a long time ago and they made up their minds about whether it was a good thing, a bad thing or they don’t really care,” he said.
Those sources also reportedly told Rolling Stone that Mark Meadows, who was President Donald Trump's chief of staff at the time, had warned that the rally could turn violent.
The article also alleged that other congressional members, including Republicans Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthon, and Louie Gohmert, either participated in planning meetings or sent staff members to those meetings.
