Gohmert repeats debunked claim that Capitol rioters were actually anti-Trump

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Thursday advanced a long-debunked conspiracy theory that anti-Trump protesters wore pro-Trump gear and were part of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

While questioning FBI Director Christopher Wray during a session of the House Judiciary Committee, Gohmert claimed that on Jan. 5 he spoke to Capitol Police officers who he alleges told him they had been briefed on “online activity that there are people that are going to be coming that hate Trump, but they’re going to dress up in red, MAGA, Trump paraphernalia to try to blend in and create trouble.”

The allegation has frequently circulated in viral messages alleging a conspiracy about the attack.

In a Jan. 9 fact check, Reuters reported that viral images purporting to show antifa supporters infiltrating the Capitol were not real and noted that the FBI said there was “no indication at this time” that antifa supporters were part of the Capitol attack.

A fact check from FactCheck.org similarly described the claims as “bogus” and noted that the claims were part of “an unfounded conspiracy theory that anti-fascist activists in disguise orchestrated the event.”

Fact checks from the Associated Press, Politifact, USA Today, and NPR have also debunked the allegation.

Wray did not get a chance to Gohmert’s claim, but in testimony given in March, Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee that, up to then, he had not “seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa in connection with the 6th.”

Gohmert has a history of boosting unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and was recently a key speaker at a conference advancing the beliefs of QAnon supporters, who falsely allege that celebrities and politicians are involved in child trafficking, among other claims.

From a June 10 session of the House Judiciary Committee:

LOUIE GOHMERT: The night before Jan. 6, Jan. 5th, that evening I was talking to Capitol Police officers and I said, “You know, let’s face it, most of the conservatives that come, they don’t have any intention of being violent.”

 

And they said, “Well, we’ve been briefed today that there’s a good bit of, as I understand it, online activity that there are people that are going to be coming that hate Trump, but they’re going to dress up in red, MAGA, Trump paraphernalia to try to blend in and create trouble.”

 

We had Capitol Police Chief [Steven] Sund testify that they got no information from U.S. intel or from the DOJ, FBI, of any threat of the nature that came about. Did the FBI have information about the violent threat that occurred on Jan. 6 on Jan. 5th?

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.