FBI Assistant Director Steven D’Antuono said Friday there is no evidence that antifa activists were involved in the violent riots in and around the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, debunking the baseless conspiracy theory propagated by several prominent Republican lawmakers and right-wing pundits that anti-fascist leftists—not a pro-Trump mob—were responsible for death and destruction at the Capitol.
When asked by reporters on Friday if antifa activists had disguised themselves as Trump supporters during Wednesday’s riots, D’Antuono responded: “We have no indication of that at this time.”
In the aftermath of the Capitol’s storming, which resulted in five deaths, including that of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, many leading Republican politicians and their right-wing media mouthpieces alleged, without evidence, that antifa organized and perpetrated the violent attacks.
According to an analysis by the New York Times, the conspiracy theory had been shared more than 150,000 times on Twitter and thousands of times more on Facebook by Wednesday evening.
“Altogether, the accounts pushing the rumor had tens of millions of followers,” the Times reported.
Article URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/01/08/fbi-no-evidence-antifa-involved-in-capitol-chaos/?sh=75ddf10e6379