Text messages obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, show two Biden-era Justice Department prosecutors discussing the targeting of Catholic nuns who appeared at the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
The February 2021 messages shared with the Daily Wire were exchanged between prosecutors Molly Gaston and Joseph Cooney and referenced media images of nuns wearing traditional habits and veils, as well as pro-Trump attire, at the demonstration.
“I would like to take a special assignment of finding and prosecuting them,” Gaston wrote, according to the messages. Cooney, who is now running for Congress in Virginia, replied, “I’m with you,” adding that he would “like to prosecute any nun who still wears the head habit.”
Grassley stated that he was “appalled” by the exchange, which he said “targeted people of faith.” The messages were provided to his office by the Justice Department as part of congressional oversight of an FBI investigation related broadly to efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results.
Senate Judiciary Republicans shared a screenshot of the messages on Thursday, accusing Democrats of tolerating anti-Christian rhetoric.
“Yesterday, Chuck Grassley released texts showing the Biden DOJ wanted to prosecute ‘any nun in a head habit.’ Meanwhile, Democrats are still crying over the SPLC indictment,” the senators stated, referring to a recent indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center for allegedly sending funds to white supremacist extremist groups.
“The Democrat party embraces anti-Christian rhetoric, but defends organizations that bankroll the KKK,” they wrote.
