(RepublicanInformer.com)- Michael Flynn, the retired lieutenant general and former national security advisor under Donald Trump, denied this week that he said a coup should happen in the United States.
The controversy started when videos were taken and posted to social media that show Flynn speaking during a conservative conference in Texas. At that event, called the “For God & Country Patriot Roundup,” an audience member asked Flynn:
“Why what happened in [Myanmar] can’t happen here?”
The crowd erupted in cheers, and Flynn responded:
“No reason. I mean, it should happen here.”
Not surprisingly, the video clips quickly went viral online. Media outlets started picking up on it and reporting what Flynn had said.
But Flynn was having none of it. He fired back with a message posted to his official account on Parler that he never called for a military takeover in America. He posted:
“For all the fake news ‘journalists’: Let me be VERY CLEAR — There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort. Any reporting of any other belief by me is a boldface fabrication based on twisted reporting at a lively panel at a conference of Patriotic Americans who love this country, just as I do.
“I am no stranger to media manipulating my words and therefore let me repeat my response to a question asked at the conference: There is no reason it (a coup) should happen here (in America).”
Attorney Sidney Powell, who represented Flynn in the past, told CNN the retired general didn’t endorse “any act of violence or any military insurrection.” She said the media “grossly distorted” the comments he made at the conference.
The situation in Myanmar is not a good one, and anyone recommending that something similar happen here in the U.S. would be quite the strong statement, to say the least.
In February, the military took control of the government in Myanmar. They ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and the elected government, and put Ming Aung Hlaing, the commander in chief of the military, in charge. Many people in the country have claimed that the November election in the country was held fraudulently.
Protests sparked throughout the country as a result, and more than 800 people have died as forces tried to fight back the protests. In addition, more than 4,000 people were detained since then, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group.
Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said earlier this year that the Myanmar crisis “constitutes a military coup d’etat.” His team called on the military leadership in the country to release all the heads of the government “and all other detained civil society and political leaders — immediately and unconditionally.”
Flynn found himself in some hot water for these comments, even though he denies them and says the media has distorted his actual statements.
