MADISON, Wis.—Two years ago today, Representative-elect Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) breached a restricted area on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol as part of the January 6th insurrection, attempting to overturn the will of Wisconsin residents. Just yesterday, Van Orden was caught once again lying to a fellow veteran about his whereabouts on that day. Earlier this week, Van Orden was prominently featured in the new MAGA Guidebook for his role in the insurrection and his extremist policy positions that would hurt Wisconsin workers and families.
Meghan Roh, Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director:
“Representative-elect Van Orden has yet to even take his oath of office, but has already failed residents of western Wisconsin by continuing to deny his role in the January 6th insurrection. Van Orden was elected to represent his entire district and yet he has pledged to carry the MAGA mantle with his extremist views and policy positions. Opportunity Wisconsin is calling on Rep.-elect Van Orden to put politics aside and commit to representing the people of Wisconsin when (if?) he is finally sworn into office.”
According to the new MAGA Guidebook, Van Orden:
- Breached police barricades at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th to “stand up for electoral integrity.”
- Called COVID-19 relief a “disaster” and “wasteful,” but a non-profit he works with and a business he co-owned received hundreds of thousands of dollars in relief funding.
- Supports banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest and said that “life begins at conception” and the number of abortions in the U.S. amounts to “genocide.”
