US Rep Ralph Norman urged Trump chief of staff to use the Army and stop Biden inauguration

Three days before President Joe Biden's inauguration, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-SC, texted Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, calling for martial law to stop Biden from taking office, according to the political website Talking Points Memo.

In the text exchange, Norman, who leads the 5th Congressional District that includes parts of Spartanburg, Cherokee, and York counties, leaned heavily on false claims about issues with the Dominion voting machines, which have long been debunked by several news groups including USA Today.

“Mark, in seeing what’s happening so quickly, and reading about the Dominion lawsuits (sic) attempting to stop any meaningful investigation we are at a point of no return in saving our Republic!!” Norman texted on Jan. 17, 2021.

“Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall (sic) Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!” Norman continued.

Norman's office released a statement Tuesday that said that the text came from a "source of frustration."

“Obviously, Martial Law was never warranted," the statement said. "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 South Carolinian Republican has a history of amplifying false claims and questioning the 2020 elections. On Aug. 31, 2021, Norman told the Greenville News that post-elections audits in states such as Pennsylvania, which certified the election as fair, "did not have enough time."

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"Nobody is going to rock the apple cart," he said at RJ Rockers, a Spartanburg-based brewery, which was the venue for a tag-team townhall event with 4th Congressional Rep. William Timmons.

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During the event, Norman and Timmons called for Biden's impeachment after U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan and questioned the 2020 elections.

The brewery owners then decided to discontinue the practice of hosting political events in their space, citing in a Facebook post that they "were disturbed by what occurred."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: US Rep Ralph Norman called for martial law to stop Biden inauguration