On June 8, a bipartisan group of senators released a report on the security and intelligence failures related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The report did not “single out” former President Donald Trump “for inciting … the riots,” as a Facebook post from the advocacy group Occupy Democrats could lead social media users to believe.
More than 400 people have been charged in relation to the Jan. 6 events at the U.S. Capitol, and there is ample evidence that many protesters defied and assaulted Capitol Police officers that day. Yet viral social media posts are falsely claiming a video clip proves that “Capitol Police gave protesters OK” to enter the building. The video clip does not depict that.
Conservative social media posts misleadingly claim the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was not an “armed” insurrection, citing FBI testimony that no guns were seized from suspects that day. But 23 people have been charged with having deadly or dangerous weapons during the assault — including a loaded handgun found on a man arrested on Capitol grounds.
Democratic ads claim eight House Republicans “stood with Q, not you,” because they voted against Donald Trump’s second impeachment. But they aren’t known to be QAnon followers, and three of them supported censuring Trump as an alternative to impeaching him.
A viral meme presents quotes from some Democratic lawmakers to misleadingly suggest they were advocating violence. They were supporting protests over various issues.
A falsehood on social media claims President Donald Trump has “invoked” the Insurrection Act, seized control of the country through the military and will “remain president indefinitely.” A Defense Department spokesman told us he was not “aware of any actions” regarding the Insurrection Act.
On the day of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, the first National Guard members arrived to assist at about 5:40 p.m. Here, we present a timeline about the efforts to deploy those troops.
In the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, the House Democrats introduced legislation to impeach President Donald Trump, charging him with “inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” Here we review Trump’s comments and actions leading up to the impeachment vote.
A viral tweet that migrated to Facebook distorts the facts on the consequences of a potential, second impeachment of President Donald Trump. Impeachment alone would not strip Trump of his pension or bar him from pursuing office in the future, as the post falsely claims.
A digitally manipulated, phony letter referring to a “Democratic Play book” and attributed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been circulating online, contributing to partisan rancor following the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.