(The Hill) — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is being mocked across social media after a video of him running away from the mob storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was released on Thursday by the House committee investigating the insurrection.
The committee displayed a well-known picture of Hawley raising a fist of solidarity to those gathered to protest the transition of power between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden as he arrived at the Capitol that day. Then, the display switched to video of Hawley fleeing the U.S. Capitol as the mob gathered in the halls.
Twitter users have mocked the senator with edited versions of the video overlaid with soundtrack music from films including “Chariots of Fire” and “Rocky,” and other hits such as “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen.
Other accounts posted memes including a picture of a running chicken captioned “I’m going to tell my grandchildren this was Josh Hawley” or joked that “Y’all better run to the polls like Josh Hawley ran from the insurrection.”
“The Missouri Dems should host an annual Josh Hawley 5K as a fundraiser,” one user suggested, while Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, called Hawley “Fistpump McRunpants.”
Thursday’s hearing uncovered evidence that Trump dismissed pleas from his aides and Republican allies to stop the violent riots on Jan. 6.
Another said: “From now on, if political reporters ask Josh Hawley if he’s planning to run, he’s going to have to ask them to clarify.”
Some weighed in on the Hawley video on a more serious note, criticizing the senator using the contrast between his solidarity in the photo and his fear in the video.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., posted both, captioning the photo of Hawley raising his fist “Sowing” and a shot of the running video “Reaping.”
The Hill has reached out to Hawley’s office for comment on the discussion.
Friday morning, Hawley tweeted out a link to purchase a mug emblazoned with the now-infamous photo of him raising a fist to protesters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Hawley was a leader in efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results and had pledged to object during the Jan. 6 electoral college certification. He defended his raised fist a few months after the insurrection, saying he didn’t regret the gesture because the protesters he passed at the time were peaceful.
His campaign began selling the mugs in February.
Julia Mueller contributed to this report.