Josh Hawley on January 6: The Fist Pump and the Run

Key facts

Hawley was the first senator to say he would object to certifying the 2020 election. On January 6, 2021 he objected to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes; the objection failed 92 to 7.
That morning he raised a fist toward the crowd outside the Capitol. Hours later, security footage showed him running from the mob.
His campaign later sold coffee mugs featuring the fist-pump photo.

The objection: first senator in line

Hawley was the first senator to say he would object to certifying the 2020 election, and on January 6, 2021 he did it. He objected to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, and the objection failed 92 to 7.

The fist pump, and the run

That morning, walking into the Capitol, he raised a fist toward the crowd gathered outside. According to the House January 6 committee, a Capitol Police officer said the gesture “riled up the crowd.” Hours later, security footage showed Hawley running down a Capitol hallway and hurrying down a staircase to get away from the people he’d saluted.

The merch

Then, because shame is apparently not in his vocabulary, his campaign sold coffee mugs with the fist-pump picture on them. When Politico, whose photographer took the photo, objected, his lawyer said the campaign would not “engage in self-censorship.”

What Missouri’s papers said

“No one other than President Donald Trump himself is more responsible for Wednesday’s coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol than one Joshua David Hawley.” The Kansas City Star Editorial Board, January 2021

When the committee aired the running footage in July 2022, the same editorial board called him a “laughingstock.”

After January 6 came the self-pity: see how Hawley cried “censorship” when he lost his book deal. And for a senator who ran from danger, his record on sick veterans is worth a look.

Josh Hawley on January 6: he cheered the mob. Then he ran like hell.