CNN host Abby Phillip called out a MAGA author for appearing to scoff at a description of Jan. 6 rioters wearing Nazi symbols and messages on their clothing.
Panelists on NewsNight were discussing FBI Director Kash Patel’s “victory lap” after the arrest of a suspect in connection with pipe bombs placed in Washington, D.C., on the day of the Capitol riot in 2021.
On the show Thursday, former Joe Biden official Dan Koh argued, “He [Patel] takes credit for it while he also proposes cutting $545 million from the FBI, 2000 personnel jobs. They are extorting universities on antisemitism, while they are pardoning people who are wearing shirts that said, ‘Six million wasn’t enough,’ ‘Camp Auschwitz,’ wearing swastikas. Maybe Kash Patel should sit this one out.”
As Koh is speaking, conservative author and Gen Z media personality Isabel Brown made a face and a confused gesture while also laughing to herself.
“Is that funny to you?” Koh asked Brown, with Phillip adding: “Isabel, I’m surprised you’re chuckling about that, because that’s actually true. Those people were among the people that were there on January 6.”
As Phillip continued to speak, Brown attempted to defend herself, replying, “I’m not chuckling about those t-shirts. They were vile and evil, and I have no problem with condemning that. What I do chuckle at is the desperate attempt to paint half the country as a fascist, as a Nazi...”
Koh responded: “They wore the swastikas.“
Phillip also clarified: “Absolutely no one was talking about half the country. We’re just talking about the ones who stormed the Capitol on January 6.”
President Donald Trump started his second term by pardoning some 1,500 Capitol rioters, including one man who was photographed wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the words ‘Camp Auschwitz’ on the day.
Among the horrifying images from the Jan. 6 rioting was a “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt emblazoned with a skull and crossbones, and the slogan “work means freedom” a translation of the Auschwitz concentration camp motto, “Arbeit macht frei.”
Another image showed a T-shirt “6MWE” or “6 Million Wasn’t Enough.”
Brown, a conservative commentator, author and Turning Point USA spokesperson, posted to her Instagram story before and after recording the episode.
The first photo showed the CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillip banner and a camera, and was accompanied by the caption, “Here we go!”
The tone of the second story was significantly more muted, with Brown posting a selfie in which she’s making a face in front of the CNN logo. The caption reads, “Well that was... an experience.”
