Opinion: Lauren Boebert & Marjorie Taylor Greene Are The House’s Two Most Dangerous Representat

Regardless of which political party American voters identify with, when they cast their ballots for their congressional representatives, they are hopeful that their selected candidate will advocate for their rights and safety on Capitol Hill. Although many congressmen and congresswomen have done precisely that, U.S. Representatives Lauren Boebert (R-Co.) and Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) are perhaps the most extreme exceptions. By inciting violence and spreading fear-mongering conspiracy theories, these two congresswomen are, without a doubt, the House’s most dangerous representatives.

Before running for public office, Boebert expressed her support for the second amendment right to carry firearms by opening Shooter’s Grill, a restaurant where both employees and customers are encouraged to carry guns. In early May, Boebert defied Democratic Governor Jared Polis’s stay-at-home orders and reopened her restaurant. Even after Garfield County served Shooter’s Grill with a restraining order, Boebert continued to serve customers outside and lost her restaurant license.

After running for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District in 2020 and defeating incumbent U.S. Representative Scott Tipton (R-Co.), Boebert quickly aired a problematic advertisement. In the aforementioned ad, the congresswoman pledged to have her firearm with her when walking around D.C. and in Congress. She claimed that by doing so, she was doing her “job in Congress to defend your rights.” This move caused extreme backlash because open carry is illegal in D.C., and conceal carry licenses from other states (such as Boebert’s Colorado license) are not recognized in the District. Representative Boebert may advocate for the second amendment, but she is not above the law.

However, these instances are just two of the many controversies Representative Boebert has been involved in. In only a few weeks after becoming a member of Congress, she argued to disregard the state of Arizona’s votes in an attempt to flip President Joe Biden’s win, was temporarily banned from Twitter after spreading fake news regarding the presidential election, and called metal detectors a “publicity stunt” when she set one off at the U.S. House’s security check.

More notably, Boebert’s role in the recent insurrection on Capitol Hill has raised concerns about other Congress members’ safety, such as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Boebert tweeted out Pelosi’s location during the riots and is facing numerous calls to resign. However, Congresswoman Boebert’s connection to the insurrection runs deeper than these tweets. Representative Steve Cohen (D-Tn.) told the media that he and another unidentified Congress member saw Boebert guiding a “large” group of people around the Capitol complex. This information is exceptionally notable when placed in context with a letter that 31 members sent to the Acting House Sergeant at Arms, Acting Senate Sergeant at Arms, and Acting Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police. In this letter, the members recall an extremely high number of “visiting groups” in the days leading up to the riots and even state that some of the members they saw were a part of the insurrection in the following days. The letter continues to note that the rioters seemed to have an “unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol Complex.” Boebert is rumored to be one of the many suspected GOP members who led the way for these domestic terrorists.

Unlike Boebert, whose physical actions have led to chaos and violent encounters, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has incited violence through her words—more specifically, the conspiracy theories she supports. Before she was Representative of Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, Greene acted as a political commentator of sorts, posting extreme, right-wing views frequently on Facebook. Recently, disturbing posts she made in reference to executing Nancy Pelosi and certain FBI officials have surfaced and caused the congresswoman to face extreme backlash for her words. In response to a comment that asked about the execution of former president Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Greene responded, “Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off.”

Like Boebert, Greene has only spent a couple of weeks in office and is already the attention of many media outlets and political figures. Significantly, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell indirectly condemned Greene for her outrageous conspiracy theories. Although never mentioning her by name, McConnell’s statement includes specific references to obscure conspiracy theories that make it clear that he was addressing Greene. “Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” McConnell said, naming only some of the widely unreasonable views she holds.

Out of all the harmful and damaging views Greene has supported, the most influential one is most likely QAnon. Similar to PizzaGate, this conspiracy theory paints Democratic leaders as child trafficking, satanic pedophiles. So far, Boebert and Greene are the only Congress members who have publicly voiced their support for QAnon, but how many more will there be? QAnon is rapidly gaining new followers each passing day, and having supporters in the Capitol only further pushes their agenda. The men and women in Congress act as the voice of the American people. It is their primary responsibility to represent and lead the nation in a peaceful and civil manner. Representatives Boebert and Greene have lost this privilege through their dangerous actions and words. By supporting absurd conspiracy theories, spreading false information, and directly working with domestic terrorists, these two congresswomen are no longer acting as American leaders but rather as the opposite: villains. They must be removed immediately.