Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) — who infamously raised his fist in support of insurrectionists earlier on January 6, was captured on camera running for his life from those insurrectionists that same day. The brief moment of footage is an embarrassing juxtaposition for the politician who has repeatedly defended the actions that took place that day.
Hawley was so in thrall to the image of himself in league with the protesters, that his campaign started selling mugs printed with a stylized version of the image to raise funds.
However, Hawley was subsequently prevented from using that image as it was a breach of copyright. The image had been taken by E&E News photographer Francis Chung on January 6.
Attorneys for POLITICO, which acquired E&E News just over a year ago, issued a cease-and-desist letter to Hawley’s campaign committee in February 2022, saying that the campaign’s use of the image on political merchandise was an unauthorized violation of the company’s intellectual property rights.
