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Conservative Groups Plan To Rally Against Boehner For Ignoring Benghazi

A number of conservative groups plan to hold a rally in Washington, DC on September 11 to commemorate the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya and to demand that Congress, particularly House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), continue to hold investigations into the attacks and the Obama administration’s handling of them.

Republicans have been increasingly divided over the Benghazi issue and Boehner — seemingly motivated by the fact that there is no evidence of a nefarious Obama administration cover-up — continues to resist calls from within is own caucus to create a special investigative committee.

Boehner is also feeling the heat from right-wing groups like Special Operations Speaks (SOS), which recently launched a petition and billboard campaign to pressure Boehner to create the special committee. “Boehner’s stonewalling is helping Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, and the rest of Obama’s corrupt administration get away with the deadliest scandal in American history,” an SOS email promoting the petition says.

Two other groups, Patriots4America and the Conservative Party USA, have joined forces and plan to hold a rally in front of the Capitol Building on Sept. 11 to not only honor the four Americans who died in the Benghazi attacks but also to demand action.

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“The tragedy of the Benghazi affair has never been adequately addressed and cleared up,” said H. Michael Hervey, the chairman of the Conservative Party USA, in an interview with ThinkProgress. “The government, the Obama administration and HIllary Clinton, the State Department, under the auspices of support in the media, have failed to adequately disclose what happened.”

Hervey also said the rally will set its sights on the House Speaker, telling ThinkProgress that “it’s a disgrace” that there is no special committee, “and Boehner is responsible.”

“We don’t think that Boehner is doing the right thing and they [Congress] don’t take it seriously enough,” he added, “If they really wanted to get to the bottom of things, they could, but yet they now are in themselves part of the problem instead of the solution.”

Mitch Mason, the founder of Patriots4America and brainchild of the Sept. 11 rally, told ThinkProgess that he’s less interested in targeting Boehner, unless that’s what it will take to get a special committee to investigate Benghazi.

“I have never really taken a hard look at Speaker Boehner’s position or any of that. I do support House Resolution 36,” he said, referring to the GOP-sponsored House measure aimed at compelling Boehner to create the committee. “My group is more focused on getting the answers, if that requires a special committee or special prosecutor with subpoena powers that’s the way it should go.”

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The event will also feature Sharron Angle, the former Tea Party-backed GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada, and current GOP Senate candidate in Louisiana Rob Maness.

Both Mason and Hervey said SOS will also be involved but they have yet to finalize details on what its role will be. Mason said he expects well over 5,000 people to attend the rally. “It’s just steam rolling right now,” he said, adding, “I’m just an ordinary guy that has had enough and I cannot stand idly by and do nothing.”