Chuck Norris Reacts To Claims He Attended The U.S. Capitol Riots
Donald Trump's supporters rioted at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021 while the electoral votes certified Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' victory in the 2020 presidential election — a victory that Trump has contested many times over. Per the New York Post, five people were killed during the violent riots. Now, Americans are looking for answers and are left wondering who was involved in this attack. Just like almost everything else these days, the horrific day was photographed and documented on social media, which led to some speculation about Chuck Norris' involvement. Yes, that Chuck Norris has been dragged into this awful incident.
One social media user shared a picture of a ginger man with facial hair, tweeting, "Wait, so are we just not going to mention the fact that Chuck Norris was at the MAGA insurrection?" The viral photo prompted another person to tweet, "Why am I not surprised that Chuck Norris was at the Capitol building riot?" Someone else didn't believe the gossip, writing, "bruh idk why people are saying chuck norris was at the riot, like i can see the resemblance but it's just not him."
With the chatter heating up on social media, Norris had no choice but to address these allegations head-on. Here's what he had to say.
Chuck Norris endorsed Donald Trump, but was not at the riot
The Walker, Texas Ranger fans can now breathe a sigh of relief — Walker's real-life counterpart Chuck Norris was not a participant in the riots that took place at Capitol Hill. The actor and martial artist denied the claims via his representative, who told Page Six, "This is not Chuck Norris and is a wannabe lookalike although Chuck is much more handsome." Humor aside, the representative clarified, "Chuck remains on his range in Texas where he has been with his family."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Norris is "a known conservative," who supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, but the actor declined to publicly endorse any candidate for the 2020 election. It's unclear if Norris' support for Trump has waned or if he is just not as vocal as he used to be, but we can at least confirm that he was not present at the riots, despite social media speculation to the contrary.
The FBI is looking for people involved at the Capitol Building riot
It was imperative that Chuck Norris cleared the air about his presence at the United States Capitol Building riot, because the FBI is currently looking for anyone who partook in the attack. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's website, 13 people had been charged in federal court in the District of Columbia as of Jan. 8, 2021, and approximately 40 additional people were charged in Superior Court. "My Office, along with our law enforcement partners at all levels, have been expeditiously working and leveraging every resource to identify, arrest, and begin prosecuting these individuals who took part in the brazen criminal acts at the U.S. Capitol," Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said in the notice.
Even if people weren't involved in the physical attack, but showed support for the rioters, repercussions are manifesting in other ways. For instance, Simon & Schuster cancelled conservative Missouri Senator Josh Hawley's (pictured above) book that was due in June 2021 after he raised his fist in support of the protesters and continued to deny the election results. "As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints; at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat," Simon & Schuster tweeted on Jan. 7 2021.
Now, the Secret Service is getting more serious than ever about the security on Capitol Hill.
Will rioters storm the Capitol Building again?
Even if the FBI knew if the Capitol Building was under threat again, it seems unlikely it would be announced publicly, considering the FBI only admitted there were warnings about violence on Capitol Hill after the riot happened. Following the attack, President Trump finally admitted there will be new hands in power after Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021 and said there will be an "orderly transition," per PBS.
Despite the statement from Trump, U.S. law enforcement organizations have "dramatically scaled up their budgets" for security ahead of Biden's inauguration, according to Reuters. "Based on what we saw last week that is priority No. 1, and we're not taking it lightly," a source involved in planning the inauguration told Reuters. "We're trying to raise as much as we can." While Reuters reports that Biden's team has been "on edge" since the riot, the future 46th president of the United States said he will still take oath in public and declared his "total confidence in the Secret Service."