Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, says she attended the ‘Stop the Steal Rally’ where former President Donald Trump called on his supporters to ‘fight’ on January 6th – but that she left before he spoke.
Thomas provided information about her activities the day of the Capitol riot after being the subject of deep dive investigative pieces in the New Yorker and the New York Times about her interactions with rally organizers – at a time her husband’s lifetime appointment gave him a role in fraud claims mediating claims by Trump and his allies.
Thomas told the conservative Washington Free Beacon that she was in the crowd that day for what the publication called a ‘short time’ on Jan. 6th – ‘but returned home before Trump took the stage at noon.’
‘I was disappointed and frustrated that there was violence that happened following a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters on the Ellipse on Jan. 6,’ she said.
Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, says she left the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally near the White House before former President Donald Trump spoke in 2020 on Jan. 6th
‘There are important and legitimate substantive questions about achieving goals like electoral integrity, racial equality, and political accountability that a democratic system like ours needs to be able to discuss and debate rationally in the political square. I fear we are losing that ability.’
Even if she missed Trump’s speech, which featured in his first Senate impeachment trial, Thomas would have been able to see Trump’s tweet on the morning of Jan. 6, where he wrote that states wanted to ‘correct’ their votes, which he said were based on ‘irregularities and fraud.’
‘All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the states,’ Trump wrote – saying his former vice president had authority Pence says he did not have.
At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki was asked if she had any comment on Thomas’ revelation about attending the rally. ‘I do not,’ she responded.
Thomas is married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Her conservative activism has drawn press scrutiny
Trump urged his supporters to ‘fight’ in his Jan. 6th speech, which featured in his second impeachment. Thomas says she left before he spoke
The rally near the White House preceded the Capitol riot
Ginni Thomas also posted before the rally
It is not known from the article what other speakers she may have heard. Others who spoke included Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who said it was time for patriots to ‘start taking down names and kicking ass,’ lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who called for ‘trial by combat,’ and former Trump campaign advisor Kimberly Guilfoyle, who said: ‘We will not allow the liberals and the Democrats to steal our dream or steal our elections.’
Thomas also said she had ‘no role’ with planning Jan. 6th, following a New York Times report that she ‘flouted judicial-ethics guidance by participating in events hosted by conservative organizations with matters before the court,’ including through her leadership role at the Council for National Policy.
One organizer said said Thomas played what the Times called a ‘peacemaking role’ between factions organizing Jan. 6th events.
‘I played no role with those who were planning and leading the Jan. 6 events,’ she said. ‘There are stories in the press suggesting I paid or arranged for buses. I did not. There are other stories saying I mediated feuding factions of leaders for that day. I did not.’
Her comments come after a New Yorker profile catalogued her political activism, and pointed to her Facebook post the morning of Jan. 6th: ‘LOVE MAGA people!!!!’ she wrote.
Thomas apologized in February 2021 to a group of former Clarence Thomas law groups, who gathered in a forum called Thomas Clerks World, the Washington Post reported.
‘Let’s pledge to not let politics divide THIS family, and learn to speak more gently and knowingly across the divide,’ she wrote. She had made pro-Trump posts in the forum of former clerks.
Among Thomas’ former clerks is lawyer John Eastman, who spoke at the ‘Stop the Steal Rally’ and urged Pence not to accept electoral votes submitted by states when Congress met to count the electoral votes in order to allow more time for challenges.
She said she played ‘no role’ in crafting the Council for National Policy document that called on people to take ‘action steps’ including pressuring GOP lawmakers to challenge election results and appoint alternate electors, after Joe Biden carried the election with 306 electoral votes.