On January 29, The New York Times released a report exploring ties between GOP members of congress, including Rep. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona and their specific ties to “radical antigovernment” group the Oath Keepers. 

Laura Ingraham defended the politicians from the reported ties to extremist groups, dismissing the links as just “giving speeches, attending similar events, maybe even posing for photos.”

The Times reported that Rep. Gosar “had paid a visit to the local Oath Keepers chapter a few years earlier, Mr. Arroyo recounted, and when asked if the United States was headed for a civil war, the congressman’s “response to the group was just flat out: ‘We’re in it. We just haven’t started shooting at each other yet.’” 

Ingraham also specifically defended Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona who the Times reports “has spoken at events hosted by extremists, including one at which a founder of the Oath Keepers called for hanging Senator John McCain.”

Furthermore, Ingraham defended the extremist groups in the article, including the Oath Keepers, from the label of “extremist” by dismissing the claim for coming from “the smear group the Southern Poverty Law Center.”

LAURA INGRAHAM (HOST): Now today, The New York Times published a lengthy article detailing the affiliations between certain GOP lawmakers, including Arizona Reps Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, and supposedly racist, right wing militias.

According to The Times, Mr. Gosar and a handful of other Republican members of the House had deeper ties to extremist groups who push violent ideas and conspiracy theories, and whose members were prominent among those who stormed the halls of Congress.

Now, of course, The Times evidence of these deeper ties doesn't go beyond giving speeches, attending similar events, maybe even posing for photos. And the evidence that the groups in question are white supremacy militias? Well, that comes from the smear group the Southern Poverty Law Center.