Rep. Adam Kinzinger is no stranger to controversy, as he is one of two Republicans on the January 6 selection committee investigation into former President Donald Trump’s attempt to undo the 2020 election and his actions that led to the deadly riots in the US Capitol.
Since joining nine other House Republicans, including: January 6, select committee vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, when voting to impeach Trump in 2021 for inciting insurgency, Kinzinger has been a constant target of online vitriol. On Monday, Kinzinger released a compilation of threatening voicemail messages left by apparent Trump supporters.
“Listen to some of the phone calls that have been answered in the office,” Kinzinger wrote of the messages, “threats have run rampant and are all too common.”
Audio of the blasphemous messages is preceded by a warning that reads: “Disclaimer: You are about to hear real voicemails and phone calls addressed to the office of Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16). This video contains profanity and threats of violence. Viewers’ discretion is advised. Please note that all voicemails and phone calls are received by my interns, high school or college, in an effort to learn more about the legislative process.”
“You conniving bastard. You’re going against Trump, you all know your mom is laying up there like a goddamn dog,” one man hears Kinzinger say in his message.
“I’m coming to protest in front of your house this weekend. We know where your family is and we’ll get you, you little bastard,” says another man, adding “Go get your wife, your kids.”
“You’re going to wave for treason, you communist bastard,” a third caller tells Kinzinger.
As his tweets from Monday show, the deluge of criticism hasn’t stopped Kinzinger from speaking out against Trump and the mob of his supporters who tried to block the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden on Jan. 6.
Kinzinger, who is not up for re-election this year, wants to regularly engages his fellow Republicans on social mediaas he did on July 4 when he retweeted the initial response from House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy to the January 6, 2021 riots in the US Capitol.
In a January interview with Yahoo News nearly six months before the Jan. 6 select committee held its first public hearing, Kinzinger complained about the state of the Republican Party.
“It makes me sad about what the party has become. This is a party that has always attracted me because of the veracity, the kind of realism and the American power aspect of foreign policy, not playing on people’s emotions about the role of the federal government, the saying what to say when it gets too big, etc. That’s been lost. It’s now a party that benefits from populism, and has one focus: raising money,” Kinzinger said. “It’s a disappointing moment. We have to keep fighting for its soul, because just as it is damaged over time, it can be repaired over time. But the bottom line is that we are on a “There’s a moment when the truth doesn’t matter, and this party will be around for a while. It’s depressing to think we’re on it now.”