What's real and not three years after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot | Fact check roundup
It's been three years since a mob supporting former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Yet, false and misleading claims about the nature of the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, the police's response and the committee hearings that followed continue to run rampant online.
The attack led to deaths, injuries and hundreds of arrests, and it temporarily halted Congress' certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,000 people for participating. A bipartisan House select committee, which investigated the attack, recommended that the Department of Justice charge Trump with insurrection, obstruction and conspiracy, among other potential charges. He was indicted in August 2023 on two felony charges related to the attack on the Capitol.
As the third anniversary of the Capitol riot approaches, here's a roundup of claims about the Capitol riot and subsequent committee hearings from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:
More from the Fact-Check Team:How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
Claims about the nature of Jan. 6 riot
The claim: CNN employees took part in the riot
Our rating: False
Posts claiming CNN employees were among the Capitol rioters are unfounded. Jade Sacker, mentioned in the claims, is a freelance journalist and has never worked for the cable news outlet. Read more
The claim: A man died from a heart attack after accidentally using a stun gun on himself at the Capitol riot
Our rating: False
Kevin Greeson of Alabama died on the Capitol grounds after a heart attack, and his wife told USA TODAY he had a history of high blood pressure. He did not accidentally stun himself. Read more
The claim: The FBI told a Senate committee that the FBI did not recover any guns at the riot
Our rating: Missing context
Jill Sanborn, assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said the FBI did not recover any firearms at the Capitol riot. But she also noted that she cannot speak for other law enforcement agencies. The Department of Justice charged rioters with bringing firearms to the Capitol grounds. Read more
Claim: Image shows a federal agent posing as a Donald Trump supporter during Jan. 6 riot
Our rating: False
The man in the photo has been previously publicly identified as Kevin James Lyons. He's an HVAC technician, not a federal agent. He has been convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot and was sentenced in July 2023 to more than four years in prison. Read more.
Claim: Jan. 6 video shows Jacob Chansley was led entire time by Capitol Police
Our rating: False
A Capitol Police spokesperson said Chansley – who also goes by the name Jake Angeli – was not accompanied at all times by police in the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. A court document and firsthand account show that police repeatedly asked Chansley to leave the building. Read more.
Comparisons to other demonstrations
The claim: Images show police presence during Black Lives Matter demonstrations compared to Capitol riot
Our rating: Missing context
Comparisons between law enforcement’s handling of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the Jan. 6 riot lack context. An image used in the claim shows National Guard members at the Lincoln Memorial after it was vandalized, not at the Capitol. Read more
The claim: Police helped a pro-Trump Capitol demonstrator and kicked a BLM bystander in the head
Our rating: Partly false
A police officer was recorded helping a pro-Trump protester down the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, but a Black Lives Matter demonstrator did not have “his head kicked in by police.” The man was shoved by officers in New York, who were later charged with assault. Read more
The claim: Biden condemned violence on Jan. 6 but didn't condemn violent protests by BLM or Antifa in the summer of 2020
Our rating: False
Biden repeatedly condemned violence linked to Black Lives Matter gatherings in 2020 and rioters on Jan. 6. Read more
Claim: March 30 protest in Tennessee was an 'insurrection' the likes of Jan. 6
Our rating: False
The Nashville protest is not comparable to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to numerous experts. While the Nashville protesters behaved peacefully and no arrests or injuries occurred, the Jan. 6 attack resulted in injuries to more than 100 police officers, over 1,000 arrests and the destruction of government property. Read more.
Claim: There was an insurrection at the Capitol on Oct. 18, 2023
Our rating: False
The crowd hosted a demonstration, not an insurrection, and it wasn't at the Capitol. Demonstrators entered the building legally and were arrested after they began protesting. No property damage or major injuries were reported. Read more.
Claims about Jan. 6 committee hearings
The claim: The Jan. 6 committee is ‘ready to arrest’ Trump after reviewing Secret Service text messages
Our rating: False
The committee does not have the power to arrest anyone, only to make recommendations to the Justice Department, which would then make its own determination whether to investigate. Read more.
The claim: An image shows a June 14, 2022, statement from Trump on the Jan. 6 hearings
Our rating: Altered
The image of the purported statement is fabricated. USA TODAY found no evidence the statement exists on any of Trump's social media accounts or his personal website. Read more.
Claim: Jan. 6 House committee was caught destroying records
Our rating: False
The Republican congressman overseeing the investigation into the committee’s work has not said any records were destroyed, and there have been no reputable reports of such destruction. What Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia did say is that some video recordings are missing, and he does not know what happened to them. Read more.
Claim: Video shows witness 'accidentally admit to FBI Jan. 6 crime'
Our rating: False
The video is miscaptioned. No one in the video admits to a crime. No one says, "We caught Ray Epps." FBI Director Christopher Wray is not shown in the video. Read more.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Debunking false claims about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot three years later
