Fact checking Republicans’ unsubstantiated claims that Antifa infiltrated Capitol riot
Reps. Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar and Matt Gaetz have all promoted the idea that left-wing extremist group Antifa snuck in with Trump supporters during Wednesday’s rally to provoke the mob.
The Florida congressman began by saying he didn’t “know if the reports are true” but went on to cite the Washington Times article, saying it contained “compelling evidence” that Antifa had infiltrated the Trump-supporting rioters’ ranks.
“(S)ome of the people who breached the Capitol today were not Trump supporters,” Gaetz said. “They were masquerading as Trump supporters and, in fact, were members of the violent terrorist group antifa.”
Facts First: None of this is true. The firm cited by the Washington Times has told two news outlets the story is false. Furthermore, right-wing extremists have been identified in the crowd that stormed the Capitol and CNN has, as of the publishing of this article, seen no evidence whatsoever of a left-wing infiltration of the mob.
XRVision and the Washington Times did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment prior to publication.
“XRVision takes pride in its technology’s precision and deems the Washington Times publication as outright false, misleading, and defamatory,” XRVision said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “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 and (sic) apology.”