Somehow, the lie has come up yet again on the Right that the crowds of Trump supporters who descended on the Capitol in election-denying violence on January 6, 2021, weren’t armed. The extensively established factual record of the day demonstrates both firearms and many other weapons that could be categorized as meaning those wielding them were “armed.”
The very first Capitol rioter to actually stand trial rather than take a plea deal, a man named Guy Reffitt, lost in court while trying to contest the indications that he himself had carried a gun at the Capitol complex. Adding another level of threat, rioters sought and obtained weapons from police during the chaos, meaning it was feasible they could have taken actual firearms from officers. Now former officer Michael Fanone has discussed hearing yelled demands as he was assaulted to use his own gun against him. Donald Trump Jr. was the culprit this time in denying these established circumstances.
In a speech at a Turning Point Action event, he mockingly referred to the January 6 attack as “the first unarmed insurrection in the history of insurrections.” Trump himself has also mischaracterized the day in much the same manner. “There were no guns whatsoever,” the former president claimed in a Fox interview months after the riot happened.
Journalist Mehdi Hasan was among those to refute the latest claims from the younger Trump. “One of the most annoying lies from the Jan 6th truthers is that there weren’t any guns or arms or weapons on January 6th. It’s just flat false and [has] been debunked a zillion times, including in court!” Hasan said.
The former president is set — assuming he ends up standing trial — to face an assembled record from prosecutors of his expressions of support for Capitol riot participants amid his criminal charges for attempting after the last presidential election to stay in power. Perhaps most substantively, Trump has expressed interest in issuing pardons for riot participants if he regains the presidency.
One of the most annoying lies from the Jan 6th truthers is that there weren’t any guns or arms or weapons on January 6th. It’s just flat false and been debunked a zillion times, including in court! https://t.co/RBrgQTX4oc
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) December 17, 2023
