Republican launches weird rant about 'grandmas and grandpas' who were at Jan. 6

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) walks to a luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Joe Biden held a meeting with the top four Congressional leaders at the White House to discuss passing federal government funding legislation before upcoming deadlines. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

For Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) the Jan. 6 melee was a blip in American history and the ones facing the worst of it are mostly innocent elderly folks who were randomly in Washington D.C.

The lawmaker appeared on Fox Business fuming over federal authorities prowling for January 6 rioters — claiming "grandmas and grandmas" are enduring SWAT treatment.

"We've had this massive dragnet, this massive manhunt for grandmas and grandpas that show up on January 6, never enter the Capitol, just happened to be in Washington, D.C. — they are taking agents, SWAT raids to arrest people that are no threat to them whatsoever."

Want more breaking political news? Click for the latest headlines at Raw Story.

He then blamed the FBI — and particularly Christopher Wray — for letting these kinds of aggressive arrests take place.

"So no the FBI has become completely partisan, it is wasting resources," said Johnson. "It doesn't need to budget increase, it needs total reform, it needs a complete change at the head.

"Christopher Wray, his job was integrity and credibility of the FBI – he has done the exact opposite."

ALSO READ: 8 ways convicted felon Donald Trump doesn't become president

Johnson was embroiled in controversy in the wake of the deadly attack on the Capitol when a mob of Trump supporters erupted in what was supposed to be a "Stop the Steal" protest in hopes of thwarting the certification of the 2020 election to then-President Elect Joe Biden.

Johnson, through an aide, attempted to secure a hush-hush handoff of an alternate set of pro-Trump electors to then-Vice President Mike Pence minutes before he would begin to count electoral votes on that fateful day.

Johnson's characterization that the arrests of seniors tied to Jan. 6 doesn't square with the data.

Of the 716 rioters that were involved that day, Seton Hall University found that mostly men (81.3%) were charged with 28.2% in their 30s, 23.8% between 18 and 29, and 21.8% in their 40s. Conversely, of the women charged — 12.7% — the majority were in their 50s (31.9%) followed by 27.5% in their 30s, and 18.7% in their 40s.