Terri Lynn Weaver: TN Lawmaker at Pro-Trump Capitol Attack Jan. 6

Tennessee state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver tweets a photo of pro-Trump demonstrations in front of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Source)

January 13, 2021 ~ By Shari Rose

Terri Lynn Weaver Statements & Actions on January 6 in D.C.

Terri Lynn Weaver describes January 6th as “epic and historic” and falsely blames Antifa for the Capitol insurrection in a now-deleted Facebook post. (Source)

Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver was present at the Capitol building on the day of the pro-Trump mob riot in Washington D.C. Elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2008, the Republican official currently serves on four committees. On January 6, Weaver proudly tweeted a photo of the unmasked crowds at the Capitol and wrote, “Epic and historic day gathering with fellow Patriots from all over the nation DC. #wearerepublic.”

Soon after, pro-Trump rioters mobbed the Capitol building and sought out elected officials in an attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. Five people died, including a Capitol police officer, and multiple active pipe bombs were discovered by authorities on the property. 

Later that day on Facebook, Weaver denied that pro-Trump rioters overtook the Capitol building. Instead, she falsely blamed Antifa for the attack, a conspiracy that has been widely disproven by the FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies. Weaver wrote in part: “One word to describe today? Absolutely Epic and Historic … There is a whole lotta propaganda going on that is simply NOT TRUE!! Anything to make us “deplorables” to be the bad guys.”

Three days after the Capitol mob attack that left five dead, Weaver tweeted out a conspiratorial video that falsely claims Democrats have stolen the 2020 election. (Source)

Not once has Weaver condemned the violence or apologized for her inflammatory language on social media. As of January 13, seven days after the Capitol attack, Weaver has refused to condemn the coup attempt at the Capitol, including the deaths of five Americans. Rather, she has since sent one tweet on January 9 of a woman declaring “there’s truth out there on the election fraud.” The video goes on to suggest horrifically ludicrous claims, including that Ashli Babbitt was actually a victim of a “social media influence operation.” 

Any failure to condemn violence is a tacit endorsement of more to come. Terri Lynn Weaver’s failure to condemn the coup attempt at the Capitol is a violation of the oath she took to protect the Constitution. There’s no getting around that. And as she continues to spread dangerous conspiracy theories and outright lies on social media, Weaver is adding more fuel to the fire. 

The Democratic Party of Tennessee has condemned Weaver for praising the insurrectionists at the Capitol and called for her resignation. 

Weaver Spreads Incendiary Conspiracy Theories on Social Media & in the Tennessee House

Weaver implores her Facebook followers to join a “Stop the Steal” protest in Nashville on November 28, 2020. (Source)

In the weeks leading up to the Capitol riot, Weaver shared inflammatory posts about stolen elections and staying in the fight to keep Trump as president.  On November 28, 2020, Weaver asked her more than 7,000 followers on Facebook to join a “Stop the Steal” rally in Nashville about the false claim that the election was stolen from Trump as the result of election fraud. In December, she retweeted Sebastian Gorka’s call to action to “fight on” in overturning the presidential election results. 

Weaver also has a penchant of spreading bizarre right-wing conspiracy theories and attempting to turn them into Republican policy in Tennessee. For example, Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver co-sponsored a bill in 2009 against the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child because of a fringe right-wing conspiracy that this was an attempt at world domination. 

Terri Lynn Weaver responds to Black protesters by saying “Some of my best friends are Black,” in February 2019. (Source) 

She once co-sponsored a bill to make the Bible Tennessee’s official state book in 2015 and successfully used state funds to erect a “Monument to the Unborn” in 2018. Weaver also created a bill that declared children born via artificial insemination as “illegitimate” and co-sponsored a 2020 bill that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. When protesters called for the removal of the bust of KKK member Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Tennessee Capitol in 2019, Weaver responded with “some of my best friends are Black.”

A 2010 photo Weaver posted on Facebook of herself with her pastor, who is wearing blackface. Weaver’s caption said, “Aunt Jemima, you is so sweet.” (Source)

Perhaps most infamous of Weaver’s tenure is a 2010 Facebook post of herself posing with her pastor, who is in black face as Aunt Jemima. Weaver’s caption read, “Aunt Jemima, you is so sweet.” In defense of the post, Weaver responded to Nashville Scene with nearly the same line as nine years after: “I’m the least racist of anyone. Some of my greatest friends are Black.”

A petition calling for Terri Lynn Weaver’s resignation is circulating on Change.org, and there is another one on Moveon.org as well.  

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