Name: Bogus Antifa Claims Follow Capitol Riot - FactCheck.org
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Bogus Antifa Claims Follow Capitol Riot - FactCheck.org

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Quick TakeViral social media posts and a Republican House member have amplified claims wrongly identifying some right-wing figures at the U.S. Capitol riot as part of “antifa.” The claims feed into an unfounded conspiracy theory that anti-fascist activists in disguise orchestrated the event.Full StoryFollowing a pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, spread a groundless theory that members of “antifa” — not supporters of President Donald Trump — were actually behind the riot.There has been no evidence put forward that “antifa,” an used to describe anti-fascistU.S. Capitol Police announced that 14 people were on Jan. 6, most for unlawful entry. That’s in addition to the 69 individuals arrested by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, 41 of which were on Capitol grounds (but not all of those were inside), a spokesman told us. The latter department’s acting chief, Robert J. Contee III, said during a Jan. 7 that he could not yet identify any particular groups involved. Federal authorities are also . The FBI’s assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington field office,&nbsp;,&nbsp;&nbsp;in a Jan. 8 call with reporters that there was currently “no indication” that antifa activists had disguised themselves as Trump supporters and carried out the Capitol riot.But some of the social media posts have claimed, wrongly, that specific individuals photographed in the events were part of “antifa.”One Facebook shared by more than 4,000 users claimed, “The man seen in the photo has actually been identified as Jake Angeli, who has been at similar events in the past and has been as “Attorney Lin Wood — who has other election-related conspiracy theories — likewise a post suggesting Angeli was “antifa” and saying that he was at an “AZ BLM rally in June.”But a larger version of the same shows Angeli was carrying a sign for QAnon, the pro-Trump conspiracy theory.Angeli can also be seen carrying a QAnon sign in a video taken in November 2020 and by Travis View, a podcast host who researches QAnon. In the video, Angeli discusses a conspiracy theory about the media.Another tweet by Wood suggested that a different, bearded man pictured in the Capitol was a member of antifa by comparing the photo to an image from the website phillyantifa.org.But the Philly Antifa was actually identifying the man in the photo, and another man, as alleged neo-Nazis — not its own members.The faulty claims about those three individuals were also at the core of a dubious Washington Times , headlined: “Facial recognition firm claims Antifa infiltrated Trump protesters who stormed Capitol.”The story was shared more than 87,000 times, according to CrowdTangle , and cited by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz () when the House resumed debate over an objection to certify Arizona’s Electoral College votes.The story claimed that a group called XRVision (whose work has been by right-wing outlets) “But an attorney for XRVision provided us with a statement saying that the story misrepresented its work and that “XRVision didn’t generate any composites or detection imagery for the Washington Times nor for a ‘retired military officer,'” as was claimed by the Washington Times.The statement instead claimed that XRVision identified the three individuals — the two alleged neo-Nazis pictured on the Philly Antifa website and Angeli — and that it did not identify any of them as being members of antifa.“The image analysis that we performed were distributed to a handful of individuals for their private consumption and not for publication,” the statement said. “Our attorney is in contact with the Washington Times and has instructed them to ‘Cease and Desist’ from any claims regarding sourcing of XRVision analytics, to retract the current claims, and publish [an] apology.”The Washington Times has since removed its story., ,” told us in an email that he had seen “Other known figures on the right were among those who publicly showcased their participation in the riot. For example,During the riot, four individuals — three due to presumed medical emergencies. A&nbsp;fifth individual, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick,&nbsp;&nbsp;Jan. 7 as a result of injuries sustained during the riot.Update, May 24: Although and the initially reported that Sicknick died as a result of injuries sustained during the riot, the Washington Post has since that District of Columbia Chief Medical Examiner Francisco J. Diaz found that Sicknick suffered two strokes nearly eight hours after being sprayed with a chemical irritant during the riot. Diaz told the Post that Sicknick died of natural causes, but “all that transpired played a role in his condition.”while rioters were “forcing their way toward the House Chamber” inside the Capitol, the department’s chief&nbsp;. On Twitter, Babbitt her support for Trump and QAnon.Update and correction, Jan. 8: An earlier version of this story misspelled Babbitt’s last name. We have corrected that error and updated this story to include information on the Jan. 7 death of a Capitol Police officer and a Jan. 8 statement by an FBI official.&nbsp;Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizationsto debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found&nbsp;.Sources“.” D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. 7 Jan 2021.Babbitt, Ashli (@Ashli_Babbitt). . Accessed 7 Jan 2021.Bray, Mark. HDella Rocca, Brian R. Attorney for XRVision. Statement to FactCheck.org. 7 Jan 2021.“.” C-SPAN. 6 Jan 2021.“.” Philly Antifa. 24 Sep 2018.Justin Jouvenal. “Ruelas, Richard. “.” Arizona Republic. 6 Jan 2021.“.” U.S. Capitol Police. 7 Jan 2021.Sternbeck, Dustin. Spokesman. D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. Phone interview with FactCheck.org. 7 Jan 2021.Tenbarge, Kat. “.” Insider. 6 Jan 2021.“.” U.S. Capitol Police. 7 Jan 2021.View, Travis (@Travis_View). “” Twitter. 6 Jan 2021.Ask SciCheckQ. Are vaccinated and boosted people more susceptible to infection or disease with the omicron variant than unvaccinated people?A. No. Getting vaccinated increases your protection against COVID-19. Sometimes, certain raw data can suggest otherwise, but that information cannot be used to determine how well a vaccine works.Have a question?

Quick TakeViral social media posts and a Republican House member have amplified claims wrongly identifying some right-wing figures at the U.S. Capitol riot as part of “antifa.” The claims feed into an unfounded conspiracy theory that anti-fascist activists in disguise orchestrated the event.Full StoryFollowing a pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, spread a groundless theory that members of “antifa” — not supporters of President Donald Trump — were actually behind the riot.There has been no evidence put forward that “antifa,” an used to describe anti-fascistU.S. Capitol Police...

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