Local newspapers turn on Lauren Boebert as 68 state politicians demand investigation into Capitol riot role

The demand for an investigation into Lauren Boebert gained traction after 68 elected officials from Colorado wrote to House speaker Nancy Pelosi, condemning the representative’s alleged association with “right-wing groups that supported the insurrection of Capitol Building." 

Ms Boebert is the representative for Colorado's third congressional district in Congress.

“We have heard overwhelmingly from our constituents, therefore her constituents, that there is deep concern about her actions leading up to and during the protests that turned into a violent deadly mob," said the letter signed by officials, including mayors, county commissioners and town council members, reported the Steamboat Pilot & Today newspaper.

Ms Boebert had tweeted details about the location of Speaker Pelosi during the 6 January attack on the US Capitol that had left five people dead. “We were locked in the House Chambers,” she wrote, followed shortly with, “The Speaker has been removed from the chambers," even as several House members confirmed that they were instructed to not share their location in the building. 

The lawmaker, who had supported president Donald Trump’s claim of election fraud, is also being slammed by local news outlets for her role in the Capitol breach. 

“Boebert is using her office to damage the US. We can’t imagine that’s what her constituents had in mind when they elected her just a few months ago,” wrote the Denver Post, in a stinging editorial on Thursday. “Coloradans — especially her constituents — need definitive answers about whether she was a hapless victim of Trump’s actions or whether she was a participant in an effort to prevent the peaceful transition of power,” it said.

Ms Boebert, while condoning the Capitol riot had said: “I denounced the violence over the summer just as I did the recent events at the Capitol. I defended our Constitution and I always will."

However, she is under fire for disclosing the location of lawmakers which could have put their lives in danger. 

"So were we in the House. @laurenboebert was told by the Sergeant of Arms in the chamber to not make any social media posts. It was said repeatedly. She defied it because she is more closely aligned with the terrorists than the patriots," wrote Representative Eric Swalwell, who was housed with Ms Boebert during the siege. 

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii also supported an investigation into congressional members who were coordinating with or aiding the rioters. 

"It’s not clear to what extent the rioters were coordinating operationally with government officials, so we ought to be extremely careful in this line of inquiry," he said. "But we must discover which elected and appointed officials, if any, and which civil servants were helping the coup," Mr Schatz said. 

Earlier, on 8 January, Colorado House speaker, Russ George, during an interview with The Daily Sentinel, said that her role was “unforgivable”. 

“I’m inclined to hold everybody who had any role in (Wednesday’s events) accountable and responsible, and that includes Boebert. It’s unforgivable …” the Republican said.