Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and Trump ally, suggested in an early-morning speech on the House floor that the violent Capitol Hill protest was hijacked by antifa.
“The Washington Times has just reported some pretty compelling evidence from a facial recognition company showing that some of the people who breached the Capitol today were not Trump supporters,” he said to audible boos from several of his colleagues. “They were masquerading as Trump supporters and, in fact, were members of the violent terrorist group antifa.”
XRVision, the facial recognition company cited in the Washington Times article, has since told BuzzFeed News that it is demanding a retraction and an apology for the “outright false, misleading, and defamatory” story.
“XRVision didn’t generate any composites or detection imagery for the Washington Times nor for a ‘retired military officer’ and did not authorize them to make any such representations,” the company said.
Gaetz’s claims were supported by Rep. Paul Gosar, the Republican from Arizona who voiced the initial objection to his state’s electors. Gosar tweeted that the outbreak had “all the hallmarks of Antifa provocation.”
This has all the hallmarks of Antifa provocation. https://t.co/HJLN3Ijn4K
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 6, 2021
He repeated his claims hours after the commotion quelled, claiming antifa was responsible for “breaking the glass” on Capitol Hill.
Look at the folks breaking the glass. All Antifa—your little buddies. https://t.co/z3kJesSlfr
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 7, 2021
Rep. Mo Brooks, the Republican from Alabama whose letter first organized House Republicans’ plans to object to official certification, also supported the notion that antifa hijacked the protest in a Thursday morning tweet.
“Please, don’t be like #FakeNewsMedia, don’t rush to judgment on assault on Capitol. Wait for investigation. All may not be (and likely is not) what appears,” he wrote. “Evidence growing that fascist ANTIFA orchestrated Capitol attack with clever mob control tactics.”
Please, don’t be like #FakeNewsMedia, don’t rush to judgment on assault on Capitol. Wait for investigation. All may not be (and likely is not) what appears. Evidence growing that fascist ANTIFA orchestrated Capitol attack with clever mob control tactics.
Evidence follows:
— Mo Brooks (@RepMoBrooks) January 7, 2021
The GOP’s claims of infiltration have spread mostly on social media platforms without substantiation. Thousands of tweets have supported the currently unverified concept.
A theory identifying one of the demonstrators as an agent of antifa has been debunked. One prominent protester, a heavily made-up man, adorning a horned fur hat atop his head, who some Twitter users speculated was an antifa instigator, has been identified as Jake Angeli, a 32-year-old QAnon supporter.
The conspiracy theorist, known as “Q Shaman,” has partaken in several protests challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election that awarded the state of Arizona to President-elect Joe Biden.
“We’re the mainstream now,” he said during a Phoenix rally in support of Trump while holding a sign that read, “Q sent me,”
The Wednesday afternoon Capitol Hill turmoil was met with bipartisan condemnation. Republicans and Democrats alike have denounced the violence, and six White House officials have resigned in an expression of their outrage. The chaos that ensued left four dead, including Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old combat veteran; an unnamed woman; and two unidentified men.
Requests for comment from the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and Gaetz’s office were not immediately returned.
