“That wasn’t Trump people,” Shirkey said of the January 6 riots in a video taken in a restaurant.
“That’s been a hoax from day one, that was all pre-arranged,” Shirkey said, asserting that rioters “went in on separate buses, that was all arranged by somebody that was funding everyone.”
“Why wasn’t there more security? It was ridiculous, it was all staged,” he continued, before pointing to conspiracy theories that Republican leadership — including Senate Minority Mitch McConnell — were somehow involved, and questioning how and why some casualties occurred or were recorded.
The recorded encounter with Shirkey occurred on February 3 at Spangler’s Family Restaurant in Jonesville, Michigan, said Hillsdale County Republican Party Secretary Jon Smith, who told CNN that he posted the video on his personal YouTube page. “I didn’t trust him to be honest with me and I wanted to expose his lies and I might need it to keep it for my own record,” Smith said of his reason to film Shirkey.
“I said some things in a videoed conversation that are not fitting for the role I am privileged to serve,” he said. “I own that. I have many flaws. Being passionate coupled with an occasional lapse in restraint of tongue are at least two of them.”
He continued, “I regret the words I chose, and I apologize for my insensitive comments.”