PHOENIX – The chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus has been castigated by his two brothers over his efforts to cast doubt about President Joe Biden’s victory.
The siblings of Republican Rep. Andy Biggs wrote in a letter to his hometown newspaper that Biggs is “at least partially to blame” for the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol this month and should be removed from office, The Arizona Republic reported Thursday.
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Biggs is one of former President Donald Trump's strongest defenders in Congress and was among dozens of Republicans who challenged the certification of electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on Jan. 6.
The organizer of the pro-Trump rally that turned violent that day has said Biggs and two other Republican lawmakers helped him plan the event — a claim that has been denied by a spokesman for Biggs.
“Political ambition, peer pressure and fealty to Trump proved to be too strong a drug to resist," William Biggs and Daniel Biggs wrote to The Arizona Republic.
Biggs violated his oath of office and eroded the trust of the electorate, they wrote. They also denounced the his refusal to wear a mask while in a secure room with other lawmakers during the siege.
A spokesman for Andy Biggs, Daniel Stefanski, did not respond to an email request for comment about the letter by the Biggs brothers to the newspaper.
William Biggs told the newspaper that he’s a Democrat and isn’t close to the congressman but couldn’t continue to keep his feelings to himself after the Capitol riot.
“It just seemed like saying nothing just felt like tacit approval of the things that he’s done,” William Biggs told The Republic. “Always before on things big and small that he’s done I’ve just kind of kept my mouth shut and gritted my teeth. This just seemed like too big a moment to just sit on the sidelines and not say anything.”
Andy Biggs isn't the first Arizona congressman to be publicly chastised by his siblings.
Six brothers and sisters of Rep. Paul Gosar urged voters to replace him in an ad for his Democratic opponent in 2018, and some of them reiterated their criticism this month following the Capitol siege.