Virginia “Ginni” Lamp Thomas, wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, revealed Monday that she was at the Washington D.C. rally former President Donald Trump held on Jan. 6, 2021 before a fatal insurrection broke out at the Capitol.
However, she told The Washington Free Beacon that she returned home before Trump took the stage. Thomas also said that she did not help organize the rally, though reports in The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine indicate otherwise.
“I played no role with those who were planning and leading the Jan. 6 events,” Thomas said. “There are stories in the press suggesting I paid or arranged for buses. I did not. There are other stories saying I mediated feuding factions of leaders for that day. I did not.”
During his speech at the Ellipse at the “stop the steal” rally held before the riot, Trump made several claims about election fraud of which he has never been able to provide evidence. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, rioters then “disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results,” in favor of current President Joe Biden.
“I was disappointed and frustrated that there was violence that happened following a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters on the Ellipse on Jan. 6,” Thomas told the Free Beacon. “There are important and legitimate substantive questions about achieving goals like electoral integrity, racial equality, and political accountability that a democratic system like ours needs to be able to discuss and debate rationally in the political square. I fear we are losing that ability.”
Some attendees even chanted “hang Mike Pence” in reference to Trump’s vice president, as they believed he could overturn the election.
A potential link between Ginni Thomas and the Jan. 6 rally reported by The New York Times is an email sent to “Thomas Clerk World,” a private email group “used by Ginni Thomas, former clerks and their spouses,” from John Eastman, the attorney who proposed that Pence could refuse to accept swing-state votes.
According to The New York Times, Ginni Thomas also worked with Amy Kremer of Women for America First and other conservative women to help plan the rally.
Kremer told the Free Beacon she refuted this report and said The New York Times wanted to “push a false narrative about Thomas.”
“The NYT seems to be more of an activist organization than a media outlet focused on real journalism,” Kremer told the Free Beacon. “They certainly have no regard for the truth.”
“We do not go into detail on our editorial process,” a Times spokesman told the Free Beacon. “Our reporting was fair and accurate and we stand behind it.”
According to Ginni Thomas’ website, she has “battled for conservative principles” in Washington for over 35 years. Her experience includes executive positions at the Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, Capitol Hill, the Department of Labor, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
She married Clarence Thomas – who is described by the Oyez free law project as a “quiet, stoic,” judge with a conservative viewpoint – in 1987.
“As a woman clashing with the women’s movement, she had found much in common with Thomas, who opposed causes supported by many Black Americans,” said The New Yorker. He has also been “credibly” accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, said the outlet.
When President George H.W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1991, Thomas became the second Black justice on the court. With a recent nomination from Biden, Ketanji Brown Jackson is set to be the third.
Although Ginni Thomas and her husband share a conservative lean, she said her involvement with the “stop the steal” rally “has no bearing on the work of her husband,” according to the Free Beacon.
“Like so many married couples, we share many of the same ideals, principles, and aspirations for America,” Thomas said. “But we have our own separate careers, and our own ideas and opinions too. Clarence doesn't discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work.”
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court rejected a request from Trump to quash a House subpoena for White House records relating to the 2020 elections. Justice Thomas was the only member of the Court to publicly note dissent.
Some suggested that Justice Thomas recuse himself from future cases related to the events of Jan. 6 due to the connections.
“If you are going to be true to yourself and your professional calling, you can never be intimidated, chilled, or censored by what the press or others say,” Ginny Thomas said in her recent interview.
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