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Andy Biggs, a porcine Republican who launched his political career after winning $10 million in the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, represents Arizona's 5th District in the United States House of Representatives.
He received a good deal of national attention this week as one of the loudest voices in Congress denying the results of the 2020 election. But those who follow Biggs know his true passion is COVID-19 denialism. He believes Anthony Fauci is a liberty thief, has called indoor dining bans "tyranny," and really, really hates masks.
Biggs was at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday when rioters, encouraged by claims of election fraud of the kind Biggs has stoked, stormed the building, forcing lawmakers into a secure location.
Cramming all those people into one room had the potential to be a deadly super-spreader event, particularly given the gerontocratic nature of our national elected leaders. Nine months into a pandemic that has killed 360,000 people, most lawmakers wouldn't need to be told to wear a mask.
But as the new D.C. political website Punchbowl reports, Biggs was asked to wear a mask and refused. There is even a video of it:
Even if you truly believed that masks don't work, wouldn't you probably just wear one in a situation like this to be polite and so that people wouldn't hate your guts? Well — not Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs!