The Right-wing lies blaming the riot on Antifa

Why would left-wing supporters want to overturn the election? This conspiracy theory makes no sense.

Wrote about the pervasiveness of Republican belief in the Antifa-Capitol lie, the long list of prominent people who spread it, how this is part of a pattern, and why the problem is not just the Fox-and-co. lie supply but demand for these kinds of lies: https://t.co/I7sDe7HpSt
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 3, 2021

" ….a handful of people who did the wrong thing on Jan. 6.”

That's how pro-Trump Rs describe it to @mikedebonis – downplaying a violent insurrection in attempt to rewrite history.

300~ rioters have been charged so far. More coming. https://t.co/YiwGAhplva
— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) March 1, 2021

The false claim that left-wing agitators were behind the Capitol riot spread rapidly after the attack.

This is how Donald Trump’s supporters seized on the lie on social media, cable networks and in the halls of Congress to rewrite history in real time.https://t.co/GvMmjY3nrf
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 1, 2021

Nearly a dozen Trump supporters charged in connection with the US Capitol insurrection have said Antifa and other left-wing groups weren't involved in the attack, debunking a false-flag conspiracy theory that is gaining popularity in the pro-Trump orbit https://t.co/ZmM6MZeWDf
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 27, 2021

"58 percent of Republicans believe the attack was 'mostly an antifa-inspired attack that only involved a few Trump supporters,' more than double the number who describe it as 'a rally of Trump supporters, some of whom attacked the Capitol.'” https://t.co/lPMp7KPHos
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) February 26, 2021

No evidence for the widespread right-wing lie that Antifa members disguised themselves as Trump supporters for the riot…but the feds have just charged a Trump supporter who allegedly said he was disguising himself as an Antifa member. From @murphy: https://t.co/uP4ilAIHtt
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 2, 2021

Analysis: How the effort to deny the reality of the Jan. 6 attack is evolving https://t.co/pbeZp6WmYz
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 23, 2021

One man charged in the Capitol insurrection put it simply on Facebook: "Don't you dare try to tell me that people are blaming this on antifa and BLM. We proudly take responsibility for storming the Castle."https://t.co/RgMJEhWUii
— NPR (@NPR) March 3, 2021

Half of Republicans blame Antifa for the 1/6 Trump mob riot

This has nothing to do with reality.

Trump's lawyers are actually blaming Antifa for the Jan. 6 riot.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) February 12, 2021

Analysis: Half of Republicans say that the Capitol violence was mostly antifa’s fault https://t.co/bpXIwTxrwG
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 11, 2021

Trump's lawyer dishonestly suggests riot was just extremists of "different stripes," claiming without evidence that one of the first arrestees was a "leader of antifa." (John Sullivan has an odd history and has used the #antifa hashtag, but no evidence he's some mastermind…)
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 12, 2021

There’s no proof antifa stormed the Capitol. The rumor has spread quickly anyway https://t.co/ye5mg0q1nW
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) February 12, 2021

Trump lawyer Michael Van der Veen just said that Antifa was a driving force of the January 6 attack. This is a lie. The FBI says "no indication" Antifa took part. #ImpeachmentTrial https://t.co/Qi5mHG82Hb
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) February 12, 2021

Donald Trump's lawyer said that the former president has always been willing to condemn and take action against all types of threats across the political spectrum. The way resources were allocated to combat domestic extremist groups suggests otherwise. https://t.co/1beRAheWy5
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 12, 2021

Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen:

"One of the first people arrested was a leader of Antifa. Sadly, he was also among the first to be released."

This appears to refer to John Sullivan who is … not an antifa leader. This is completely baseless.https://t.co/l1tyIYMASy
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) February 12, 2021

BREAKING: Lawyers for former President Donald Trump kicked off their impeachment defense on Friday by making the absurd claim that the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot was the work of “antifa.” https://t.co/fct3BBaLg0
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) February 12, 2021

Guess who Trump's defense team tried to blame for the violence on Jan. 6.https://t.co/gaJIVGemcK
— Philip Bump (@pbump) February 12, 2021

Trump focused on antifa instead of right-wing extremists

This assessment is spot on based on recent years where I’ve encountered researchers being told to find Antifa and met law enforcement making warnings/fears about Antifa without being able to name a single member or incident of Antifa in their jurisdiction https://t.co/dUTGqheUpp
— Clint Watts (@selectedwisdom) January 31, 2021

Antifa had nothing to do with the Trump riot

The Trump cult always blames someone else. I am waiting for them to say George Soros paid the protesters.

Analysis: On his way out the door, Trump tries to blame the left for violence on the right https://t.co/qtFfJAt37L
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 12, 2021

—>> FBI says there’s “no indication” at this time that shows Antifa actors conspired to frame Trump supporters committing violence at the Capitol.

Cc: every lawmaker and media outlet that spread this conspiracy theory without evidence.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 8, 2021

FBI says “no indication” at this time that shows Antifa actors conspired to frame Trump supporters committing violence at the Capitol
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) January 8, 2021

More right wing nonsense about Antifa

A seminarian and associate pastor wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt was mistaken for an antifa flag-burner at Gettysburg National Park. Armed militia surrounded him. Federal agents escorted him out for his own safety as onlookers changed "USA!" "USA!" https://t.co/brt5XNgysA
— Shawn Boburg (@ShawnBoburg) July 5, 2020

The right wing extremists have guns again. How will they react in Trump loses the election.

A friend who works for a police department in Ohio said they received numerous calls today to investigate "Antifa dust" on the cars and driveways.

It's pollen.

And now I can't stop laughing about people calling the police on trees.
— Maggie Downs (@downsanddirty) June 23, 2020

Fact Checker: Who caused the violence at protests? It wasn’t antifa. https://t.co/owGf0qcaRy
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 22, 2020

This is important.

The Trump Admin’s own analysis suggests violent extremists (like the Boogaloo Bois) – not Antifa – pose the greatest risk of violence

The Trump Campaign is increasingly using Nazi-esque rhetoric to instead blame “Antifa”

1/https://t.co/zS7Nu78qKj
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) June 19, 2020

SCOOP:

An internal Department of Homeland Security assessment of threats to law enforcement makes no mention of "Antifa."

It says "overall protest-related violence" has been "decreasing significantly."

Yet Trump's Antifa nonsense continues.

New piece:https://t.co/VL5fh6PHvb
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 19, 2020

More right-wing nonsense about Antifa

If you want facts, check out What is Antifa?

Huntsville, Alabama police "identified elements of 10 of 13 antifa roles" from a BLM protest on June 3rd.

Their source is… a chart made by Hong Kong protesters. https://t.co/gEhAJE5xmW pic.twitter.com/r0Hq9ad60r
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 19, 2020

I decided to do my new column when I heard that a small, remote logging town on the Oregon coast had been panicked about an antifa invasion, with 200 armed men turning out to fight of the invaders. Similar hysteria has hit towns across the country. https://t.co/6X8zLD612P
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) June 18, 2020

Why isn't it a bigger story that Trump and many of his top law enforcement and national security officials continue to wholly *invent* a "domestic terror" threat without offering the slightest justification for the claim? https://t.co/xsiBVp0xvE https://t.co/udxU6FZ25W
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 15, 2020

Authorities have arrested a Colorado man who they say held two roofing-company salesmen at gunpoint. They were knocking on doors in shirts with the company logo, but the man told police he thought they were antifa. https://t.co/8TteG5vzp1
— AP West Region (@APWestRegion) June 14, 2020

NEW None of 400 arrested in Washington during George Floyd protests show ties to Antifa or extremist groups, D.C. officials said. By @keithlalexander and @MerylKornfield https://t.co/usAG76mi7E
— Spencer Hsu (@hsu_spencer) June 14, 2020

Oh boy https://t.co/T00NtMpg0U
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 14, 2020

Scant evidence of “antifa” shows how sweeping the protests for racial justice have become https://t.co/G074ZFyyCL
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 13, 2020

Rather than repeating work Daily Beast, AP, and NPR already did showing Billy Barr lied when he blamed the violence on Antifa, maybe it's time to report on WHY Barr lied about the culprits?

Why would an authoritarian AG frame those opposed to right wing authoritarianism?

🤔 https://t.co/MOnIWaauji
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 13, 2020

New York Times: "None of those charged with serious federal crimes amid the unrest have been linked so far to the loose collective of anti-fascist activists known as antifa." https://t.co/A1oHMjfY12
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 12, 2020

If you've been getting your news from right-wing media, you probably think armed militant Antifa activists have seized a section of Seattle.

But the mayor's office tells me, "City officials have not interacted with 'armed antifa militants' at this site."https://t.co/ctZiwNNCx6
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 11, 2020

Opinion: Trump’s bluster about "Antifa" and the protests takes another hit https://t.co/wGmJzPy0hx
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 11, 2020

I spent the last week tracking rumors of roaming bandits of Antifa coming to destroy small towns — and talking to experts about how, and why, this is happening (it's not just the president tweeting) https://t.co/A3tFlPAK3H
— Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelen) June 9, 2020

All week, as I was reporting on the antifa panic throughout the country, I kept thinking about the 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, and the '80s Satanic Panic — residents convinced an invisible enemy was coming to their town, no matter how tiny.https://t.co/lybZJCDbd6
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 7, 2020

President Trump branded protesters clashing with police after George Floyd’s death as radical-left thugs. Democrats blamed the far-right. But AP finds most of those arrested last weekend in Minneapolis and D.C. were locals. Few were affiliated with groups. https://t.co/7nzO4DMroJ
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 6, 2020

New from @BrandyZadrozny + me:

Armed residents in small towns all across America, warned by social media and local police, have been gathering to fight off "busloads of antifa," coming to loot their towns.

They never show up.

So what happens next?https://t.co/lybZJCDbd6
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 6, 2020

First the Daily Beast and now the AP have looked and looked and looked without finding Antifa behind the protests. https://t.co/hwIFqMKqZm https://t.co/9HFzcWN9OT
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 6, 2020

New splash page on Trump campaign site pic.twitter.com/56yxLrGA1X
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) June 6, 2020

conspiracy theory addled conservatives are destroying this country and social media is the poison swamp they get radicalized in https://t.co/ad1MlUcJqQ
— Daniel Gilmore (@gilmored85) June 6, 2020

The day three suspected boogaloo guys were charged with threatening a protest, Barr talked about the threat of "antifa-like" tactics.

The next day, Barr warned about antifa again. An FBI report that day saw no link to antifa in the day's protests in DC.https://t.co/C6fMwG6XJ4
— Philip Bump (@pbump) June 5, 2020

Barr keeps squealing about 'Antifa.' But Antifa is not referenced — not once — in any of the first 22 federal criminal cases from the protests. https://t.co/3EQJT4NMEc
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) June 5, 2020