A Republican congresswoman-elect from Georgia who has expressed more support for the QAnon conspiracy theory than for CDC guid...
A Republican congresswoman-elect from Georgia who has expressed more support for the QAnon conspiracy theory than for CDC guidelines on COVID-19 mitigation told her orientation class that face coverings are 'oppressive.'
Marjorie Taylor Greene, 46, tweeted Friday that she told her fellow newly elected representatives that 'masks are oppressive' and that people from her state don't wear them inside gyms and offices.
'My body, my choice,' she wrote.
Also Friday, the U.S. recorded 1,389 coronavirus-related deaths and 181,194 positive COVID-19 cases, the most cases of any day since the pandemic began in March. Positive cases in Georgia have risen about 35 percent compared to figures from two weeks prior.
Congresswoman-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene was photographed November 13 arriving at her freshman orientation on Capitol Hill with a mask hanging from her ear
Greene was seen leaving the Capitol wearing a mask, which is required in all House areas with some exceptions
Greene arrived on Capitol Hill with a stars-and-stripes mask hanging from her ear and was later seen leaving the U.S. Capitol with it on, Yahoo News reported.
The Representative-elect had a 'pretty fiery' back-and-forth with officials briefing the class on the House's mask rule, fellow Republican freshman Madison Cawthorn told reporters.
In July Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi started requiring members to wear masks in all House areas except when delivering speeches or eating.
The Republican-controlled Senate has instituted no mask requirement. At least six senators and two House members have tested positive for coronavirus.
Greene has voiced opposition toward masks for months. In a since-deleted tweet from September she argued that children should not wear masks.
Greene tweeted November 13 that she told her orientation class that 'masks are oppressive,' and a fellow freshman Representative-elect said she got into a 'fiery' back and forth with officials explaining the House's mask rule
She claimed wearing face coverings is 'unhealthy for their psychological, emotional, and educational growth' and said 'forcing boys to wear masks is emasculating.'
The Center for Disease Control has continued to urge all Americans over the age of 2 to wear masks in order to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Greene posted a video Saturday of her workout in a Washington, D.C. hotel room, complaining that 'NOTHING is open bc of Democrat tyrannical control' in the District.
On November 13 the U.S. recorded 181,194 positive COVID-19 cases, the most cases of any day since the pandemic began in March
The U.S. tallied 1,389 coronavirus-related deaths on November 14 after rising steadily since the summer
Several Twitter users replied that gyms are indeed open in D.C., though at limited capacities.
A look into Greene's social media history also reveals Islamophobic statements. She called elections of Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar the 'Islamic invasion of our government.'
And in several instances she voiced support for the debunked QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that a global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles is plotting against President Trump while running a massive sex-trafficking ring.
Greene, far right, with Republican Representative-elect Byron Donalds on Friday. The House requires mask use in most situations, while the Senate has instituted no requirements for face coverings
QAnon lore commonly holds that Trump will soon arrest thousands of cabal members in an event known as 'The Storm.'
In 2019 the FBI labeled QAnon as a potential domestic terrorism threat, and the major social media platforms have banned its promotion.
In August Greene tried to distance herself from QAnon, telling Fox News that the conspiracy 'wasn't part of my campaign. She said that once she 'started finding misinformation' she 'chose another path.'
That same month Greene won a primary runoff in Georgia's deep-red 14th Congressional District, prompting President Trump to declare her a 'rising Republican star.'
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