- Rep. Adam Kinzinger is a rare Republican who has voted to impeach Trump.
- It has not been a popular move within his party or among his constituents.
- But in a new interview with Insider’s Anthony Fisher, Kinzinger says members of his own family have circulated a petition disowning him.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
Rep. Illinois’s Adam Kinzinger is one of only ten Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in instigating the rebellious mob attacking the Capitol on January 6. The lawmaker, who has been in Congress since 2013, tried to warn the GOP of the pernicious influence of the QAnon conspiracy theory many months before Trump supporters stormed the building.
In response to his impeachment vote, Kinzinger has faced a wave of vitriol from the pro-Trump corners of his party. Called a “RINO” – or “Republican In Name Only” – received death threats, and will almost certainly face a Trump-supporting primary challenger for his seat in the House in 2022.
But the backlash isn’t just among the public and other lawmakers. In a new interview with Insider opinion columnist Anthony Fisher, Kinzinger says members of his own family have turned against him for his vote:
“My father’s cousins sent me a petition – a registered letter – saying they disowned me because I’m now in ‘the devil’s army,'” Kinzinger said in a telephone conversation on Thursday. “It’s been crazy when you have friends – who you thought were good friends who would love you anyway – they don’t.”
In the interview, Kinzinger also said he had a bad feeling that there would be violence in the Capitol on January 6, so much so that he brought his gun to his office.
He also talked about the bond he shares with the other nine Republicans who voted to impeach, how he is trying to convince Trump supporters that his vote was an act of conscience, and why he isn’t the least bit concerned about the loss from its seat in Congress.