The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged for the first time that she attended former President Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021, but insisted she did not join the attack on the Capitol that followed it.
Ginni Thomas, a prominent conservative activist in her own right, attended the “Stop the Steal rally,” which she framed as a righteous gathering of those concerned about the nation’s democracy, the right-wing Washington Free Beacon news outlet reported Monday.
“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,” she said. “I fear we are losing that ability.”
Thomas, 65, denied reports that she helped plan or bankroll the rally.
“I played no role with those who were planning and leading the Jan. 6 events,” Thomas said. “There are stories in the press suggesting I paid or arranged for buses. I did not.”
Thomas said she left early before Trump spoke due to the frigid weather. Despite saying she “was disappointed” at the violence, she avoided criticizing the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the White House has no comment on the reports about Mrs. Thomas.
Trump and other MAGA allies egged on thousands of supporters at the rally to march on the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s election victory.
The ex-president told his loyal supporters to “fight like hell” to keep him in power. Thousands of them marched to the Capitol, where they overwhelmed outnumbered police and forced lawmakers to temporarily abandon the constitutionally required certification.
Thomas has faced scrutiny for her involvement in groups that file briefs about cases in front of the Supreme Court and use her Facebook page to amplify partisan attacks.
But the wife of the most conservative judge on the bench insists that her activism is unrelated to her husband’s role on the top court.
“We have our own separate careers and our own ideas and opinions too,” she told the Free Beacon. “Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work.”
_____
