Among the 2,319 text messages former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows turned over to the U.S. House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, one from South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman (R, 5th) called for former President Donald Trump to invoke martial law in the days leading up to the inauguration of then-president-elect Joe Biden.
The text, obtained by Talking Points Memo, or TPM, was made public Monday. It reads:
“Mark, in seeing what’s happening so quickly, and reading about the Dominion law suits attempting to stop any meaningful investigation we are at a point of � no return � in saving our Republic !! Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!” [sic]
The message was dated Jan. 17, 2021, three days before Biden’s inauguration.
On Tuesday, Norman’s office released a statement to South Carolina Public Radio, in which the congressman pulled back from his request to Meadows. It reads:
“Obviously, Martial Law was never warranted. That text message came from a source of frustration, on the heels of countless unanswered questions about the integrity of the 2020 election, without any way to slow down and examine those issues prior to the inauguration of the newly elected president.”
The text itself underscores the turmoil surrounding the 2020 presidential election, which was pocked with debunked claims of illegitimacy, fraud, and rigged voting machines.
The log Meadows provided to the select committee, according to TPM, does not include a response to Norman’s message.
Norman’s message was one of at least 364 messages received from Republican members of Congress discussing efforts to reverse the results of the election.
Norman was an early voice in questioning the results of the 2020 election. On Nov. 9, 2020 – the day Biden was declared the victor – Norman tweeted:
“After every legal vote is counted; After unlawful votes are thrown out; After provisional ballots are reconciled; After the numerous abnormalities are investigated and fully resolved… Then – and only then – will we know who won the Presidency.”
