At a Senate Republican leadership press conference on Tuesday, a reporter asked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) if it’s accurate to call those incarcerated for January 6th crimes “hostages” after House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) echoed Donald Trump‘s language on this.

The reporter asked, “In light of the anniversary of January 6th, is it accurate to characterize individuals convicted and incarcerated for January 6th-related crimes — to characterize them as hostages? Is that accurate?”

“Well, let me say this about January 6th. I had remarks that I made on February 13th of ’21 about how I felt about January 6th. I recently reread it. I stand by what I said,” McConnell replied.

In McConnell’s February 2021 speech on the Senate floor, he said: “January 6th was a disgrace. American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of domestic business they did not like. Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the vice president. They did this because they’d been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth … There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.”