Josh Hawley is looking at legal repercussions for his now-infamous fist-pump photo during the January 6 failed MAGA coup, but not for the reasons you might think. The failed insurrection is still considered a noble cause in Republican circles, so naturally, Hawley has been leaning into his fist-pump moment for his re-election campaign. More specifically, he’s selling a coffee mug that says “Show Me Strong” along with the January 6 image, but there’s just one small problem: He doesn’t have the rights to the photo.
The rights to the fist-pump photograph taken by Francis Chung belong to E&E News, which was recently purchased by Politico back in December. According to The Hill, Politico has issued a cease and desist to Hawley’s campaign instructing them to remove the image:
“We do not authorize its use by the Hawley campaign for the purpose of political fundraising, which the campaign has been put on notice of by legal counsel,” a spokesperson for Politico told The Hill on Monday. “We are eagerly awaiting a response, but in the interim again respectfully ask that the campaign immediately cease and desist unauthorized use of the image.”
Interestingly, this is not the first controversy caused by the fist-pump coffee mug. Back in February, Hawley’s campaign was ruthlessly mocked on social media for claiming the mug is “Made in America” when in fact, it’s made in China. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before we find out the thing is made of lead and asbestos, or Putin has one sitting on his desk. Could go either way.
(Via The Hill)