In new ad, Latino Democrats take aim at Republicans over January 6 riot
In a new set of ads, Democratic-leaning Latino Democrats have taken aim at a number of Republican politicians for their role in the events leading up to the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.
The ads - which were released by the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) on Tuesday - were aimed at Republican members of Congress, including California's Mike Garcia, Florida's Carlos Giménez, Texas' Beth Van Duyne and New Mexico's Yvette Herrell.
All four Republicans represent heavily Latino areas in which Democrats narrowly lost during the 2020 election.
In the first ad - which was released on Wednesday - features a police officer narrating his experiences of the January 6 unrest. It is aimed at Carlos Giménez in Florida, a former Mayor of Miami who won a congressional seat in the November election.
"I experienced a group of individuals who were trying to kill me," the officer says, while the ad shows footage of the January 6 attack.
A narrator then noted that Giménez "was forced to hide".
"But hours later, with blood still on the floors of the Capitol, he voted with Trump and helped spread the same lies that left a police officer dead and many others injured," the narrator says. "They deserve better than Congressman Carlos Gimenez."
The ad were commissioned by BOLD PAC and produced by Solidarity Strategies, a Latino-owned campaign firm.
On Twitter, BOLD PAC's Chairman, Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego said that he is working to "hold seditionists accountable" and that the ad will run in South Florida to remind people that Giménez ‘voted to support the insurrection'.
On January 6, Giménez was one of 120 Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote against the certification of Arizona's electoral vote count, as well as one of 137 who objected to Pennsylvania's as Trump sought to overturn the results of the election.
Gallego - a combat veteran of the Marine Corps and the Iraq War - has been one of the most outspoken politicians when it comes to holding individuals responsible for their part in the January 6 insurrection, or the events that lead-up to it.
During the assault, Gallego sheltered a number of reporters in his office after the US Capitol was breached, and used his military training to help other members of Congress don gas masks and other protective equipment.
"Some of us with a little more knowledge with tear gas and masks were helping out other members," he said. "Eventually, we had to evacuate."
In March, Gallego called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to call for benefits to be withdrawn from any active-duty members of the military found to have participated in the January 6 riot, as well as veterans or retirees.
"The behavior of these individuals is not representative of the large population of American veterans, the vast majority of whom served honorably and are appalled by the thought of insurrection in the country they served," he wrote.
"Yet, many of the veterans and servicemembers who attacked their own Government actively and enthusiastically enjoy special benefits given to them by their fellow citizens," Gallego added.
To date, more than 400 people have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the January 6 riot. In late April, prosecutors said they expected at least 100 more people to be charged as part of the investigation, one of the largest in American history.