MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin denies that he made racist comments last week when he said he wasn’t concerned about pro-Donald Trump insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol in January but would have been worried if they were Black Lives Matters protesters. The comments drew a firestorm of criticism from Democrats and others who said Johnson was making racist statements. But Johnson, in an interview Monday on WISN-AM, said “there’s no racism involved.” He says, “It has nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with riots.”
