“January Six Degrees of Separation”: Report Reveals Robinson Met With One Of The “Highest-Profile Election Deniers In The Country: Ginni Thomas”

“Documents obtained by The Daily Beast shed light on the extent of his private ties to the movement to contest, overturn, and delegitimize Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.”

While Mark Robinson may keep trying to downplay the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, his history of election denialism continues to pile up. According to Robinson’s official schedule, obtained by the Daily Beast, he met with Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and her far-right group Frontliners for Liberty “weeks after the Jan. 6 attack.” Frontliners for Liberty was involved in the planning of the Capitol attack and drew scrutiny from the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6. Robinson has been unresponsive to questions about the meeting’s purpose.

This news comes after a recent report from WRAL, revealing Robinson calling January 6 a “minor thing” in 2023 and a “small debacle” in 2022. The article also highlights Robinson referring to January 6 detainees as “political prisoners,” and calling on Attorney General Josh Stein to resign for investigating criminal activity from the Capitol attack.

The News and Observer has previously reported on Robinson’s belief that President Joe Biden “stole the election.” In 2022, he told the Conservative Political Action Conference, “I don’t care what you tell me, 83,000 [sic] people did not vote for Joe Biden. I don’t think 83 million people know who Joe Biden is.”

One thing is clear: “Robinson is an unabashed, unapologetic election denier running in the same circles as other Republicans showing no repentance for stirring up an insurrection.”

Publicly, the Trump-loving lieutenant governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson, has embraced the role of a zealous 2020 election denier.

In April 2021, for instance, Robinson told a crowd that President Joe Biden “stole the election.”

“Yeah, I said that,” Robinson added for effect.

Days before making that declaration, however, Robinson was privately meeting with one of the highest-profile election deniers in the country: Ginni Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Now, as Robinson ramps up his campaign for North Carolina’s governorship in 2024, documents obtained by The Daily Beast shed light on the extent of his private ties to the movement to contest, overturn, and delegitimize Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election—and it’s clear Robinson is an unabashed, unapologetic election denier running in the same circles as other Republicans showing no repentance for stirring up an insurrection.

In fact, Robinson met with Thomas weeks after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and Biden’s inauguration.

According to a copy of Robinson’s official schedule, which was produced through a Freedom of Information Act request, the lieutenant governor had a meeting with Thomas on March 30, 2021.

But Robinson didn’t just speak with Thomas that afternoon; the calendar note indicates he met with Thomas and a group she helped run called Frontliners for Liberty.

Initially a Facebook group that described itself as “a new collaborative, liberty-focused, action-oriented group of state leaders representing grassroots armies,” according to CNBC, Frontliners for Liberty morphed into a key organizing venue for far-right activists nationwide working desperately to keep Trump in power—even after Trump was out of office.

Ultimately, Thomas’ group was influential enough for it to draw the scrutiny of the House Select Committee to Investigate Jan. 6. In December 2020, Trump attorney John Eastman spoke to the group, at Thomas’ invitation, to update them regarding his legal challenges to Biden’s victory. A court-obtained meeting agenda shows Eastman was slated to discuss “state legislative actions that can reverse the media-called election for Joe Biden.”

It’s unclear exactly what Robinson and Thomas discussed in their March 2021 meeting—or exactly who else joined. Since there was no location specified on Robinson’s schedule for the meeting, it may have taken place virtually. Spokespeople for Robinson and Thomas both did not return requests for comment from The Daily Beast.

WRAL: ‘Treacherous insurrection’ or ‘small debacle?’ Where NC gubernatorial hopefuls stand on Jan. 6 attack

And as Trump has heaped praise on the lieutenant governor for his commanding speaking style, Robinson has downplayed the Jan. 6 attack and dismissed suggestions that Trump should be held accountable.

At a fundraiser last month at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Robinson stood by as Trump encouraged Republicans to donate to the lieutenant governor’s campaign in a wide ranging speech during which Trump also aired doubts about election integrity, and touched on indictments against him and grievances against the U.S. Department of Justice.

During an appearance at the East Wake Republican Club last month, Robinson referred to Jan. 6, 2021, as a “minor thing,” according to audio of the speech obtained by WRAL. During an event in Mitchell County on July 21, 2022, Robinson referred to Jan. 6 as a “small debacle” and inaccurately said only “one unarmed white woman was killed.”

In a July 12, 2022, Facebook post, Robinson referred to those arrested during the Jan. 6 attack as “political prisoners.” At a fundraiser for state Rep. John Bell in 2021, Robinson cited Stein’s response to the Jan. 6 attacks when calling on the attorney general to resign.

Shortly after the Jan. 6 attack, Stein’s office asked the public for information about North Carolinians who may have broken the law at the event.

“Last week’s violent insurrection violated one of the most sacred principles of our democracy — the peaceful transfer of power as a result of a free and fair election,” Stein said in a press release at the time. “As Attorney General, I will do everything in my power, alongside my state and federal counterparts, to hold accountable the people who participated in this violence and broke the law.”

Mike Lonergan, a spokesperson for Robinson’s campaign, declined to comment on Robinson’s past remarks about Jan. 6.

In a statement to WRAL, Stein said of Robinson: “His conspiracy theories are un-American.”

“Lieutenant Governor Robinson — who has a history of promoting political violence – downplayed the violent insurrection and falsely claims that Joe Biden ‘stole’ the 2020 election,” Stein said. “As Governor, I will be a fierce defender of democracy and the right to vote.”