NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Pennsylvania Senate candidate Kathy Barnette’s campaign said she was at the Jan. 6, 2021 protest in Washington, D.C., to “demand election accountability,” but didn’t break the law, after photos of her from that day surfaced on the eve of the state’s primary election.
“Kathy was in DC to support President Trump and demand election accountability,” a Barnette campaign spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Any assertion that she participated in or supported the destruction of property is intentionally false.”
U.S. Senate candidate Kathy Barnette speaks with people during a campaign rally at The Fuge on May 14, 2022 in Warminster, Pennsylvania. ((Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images))
NBC News Monday morning published photos that appear to show Barnette marching in D.C. on Jan. 6 near members of “Proud Boys,” an extreme right-wing group that played a prominent role in the Capitol attack.
THREE-WAY OZ-BARNETTE-MCCORMICK CLASH FOR GOP SENATE NOMINATION ON EVE OF PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY
Barnette’s campaign further denied that she has any connection to the Proud Boys and that “Americans deserve transparency to restore faith in our system” of elections.”
There is no evidence that Barnette entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 or broke any laws.
Republican Senate candidate Kathy Barnette campaigns in West Chester, Pennsylvania on May 13, 2022 (Fox News )
The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol came after former President Donald Trump for months falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Trump held a rally near the White House that morning where he repeated his false election claims. Also that day, a mob of Trump’s supporters breached the Capitol as Congress was counting the electoral votes from the presidential election.
WHAT THE FINAL FOX NEWS POLL IN PENNSYLVANIA’S GOP SENATE BATTLE SHOWS
Hundreds of lawmakers were forced to flee and hide in the Capitol complex as rioters entered both the House and Senate chambers.
Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
The photos of Barnette in D.C. on Jan. 6 come as she has surged to become a major contender in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary Tuesday.
A Fox News poll conducted May 3-7 and released last week that showed Trump-endorsed candidate Mehmet Oz at 22%, former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick at 20%, Barnette at 19%, and 19% supporting other candidates and 18% still undecided.
TRUMP TAKES AIM AT BARNETTE IN PENNSYLVANIA GOP SENATE CLASH
Since her surge in the polls, Barnette has faced constant incoming fire from her rivals and other Republicans, concerned over her lack of vetting and past controversial comments and worries that she’s too extreme to win a statewide general election in a purple state like Pennsylvania.
Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
That included Trump himself, who said in a statement that Oz is the best candidate to win the general election.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump said Thursday. “She has many things in her past which have not been properly explained or vetted.”
“Everybody is coming after me,” Barnette said on the campaign trail Saturday in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Why do you think that is? Because I’m winning and that’s a problem.”
