Ariel Pink Responds To Backlash After He And John Maus Were In D.C. During The Capitol Building Riot

Filmmaker Alex Lee Moyer shared a photo of Ariel Pink and John Maus together in Washington, D.C. yesterday, which of course was the site of the Capitol Building riot. This prompted some to start asking questions about what Pink and Maus were doing in Washington, with one Twitter user citing the photo as proof that Pink was part of the crowd that stormed the Capitol Building.

Pink denied that to be true, responding, “proof that i stormed congress. yeah i dont see it. are u suggesting the congress building has a bed and breakfast we somehow got access to.” He added in another tweet, “i dont and never have advocated for violent confrontation or rioting. must be my boomer upbringing.”

Pink was then criticized for even being there, as the person wrote, “first of all a PANDEMIC is still occurring and you are putting others at risk by being at such a massive gathering in which protestors are not social distancing nor wearing masks. this puts vulnerable populations at risk and defeats the entire purpose of the stay at home orders.” Pink replied, “all the people at these events deserve whats coming to them. they took the risk knowing full well what might happen. BLM protests over the past 6 months are not informed about the pandemic?”

Elsewhere, the person insisted, “there’s photo and video documentation that you were at the event. whether you entered the building or not does not imply that u were not involved in the event. the instagram post referring to ur song expressed that u enjoyed today’s event and had fun along friends.” He responded, “i was in dc to peacefully show my support for the president. i attended the rally on the white house lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. case closed.”

It is not clear what role Maus, who was filmed observing crowds outside the Capitol, had in the situation.