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Published 13:51 IST, March 3rd 2021

FBI director debunks conspiracy theory, says Capitol rioters not 'fake Trump protesters'

Before Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, FBI director Wary alleged that the rioting mob that led Capitol besiege were racially motivated violent extremists.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
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In his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the pro-Trump MAGA insurrectionists that breached the Capitol on Jan.6 were not "fake Trump protesters," or at least the FBI, so far has not had evidence of the same. In his statement delivered before Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, Wary alleged that the rioting mob that led the Capitol besiege were racially motivated violent extremists that advocated White Supremacy, additionally denying the involvement of the Antifa and leftists.

In a live-streamed testimony broadcasted across multiple television networks,  FBI director Wary said, "we're coming after it", indicating that the law enforcement was establishing any links or evidence of leftists attempting a failed coup but he categorically denied the narrative hurled by Republicans that the insurrectionists were 'fake Trump supporters'.  Last week, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh claimed that the aggressive crowd that stormed the Capitol building 2 months ago were leftist forces disguised as Donald Trump's supporters. Wisconsin Republican, who attracted a backlash for his remarks, said that the attack did not seem like an "insurrection" as he read from an uncorroborated account. 

“An organized cell of agents-provocateurs corral(ed) people as an unwitting follow-on force behind the plainclothes militants tussling with police,” Johnson said during a televised Senate hearing on security failures that led to the Capitol breach. In his scathing attack on Police officers, Johnson alleged, "tear gas changed the crowd’s demeanor." The Rep. senator further castigated the Police Department, saying officers stirred the "air of disbelief after the protesters realized that officers, whom they supported, were firing on them". 

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US Capitol Police Chief defends officers

Acting US Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman, earlier in her testimony, defended the officers saying that the Capitol police became ‘overwhelmed by insurrectionists’ during the Jan. 6 riots. In the congressional testimony to the House Appropriations Committee, Pittman acknowledged the law enforcement’s failure, stating that the department was fully liable to answer the American people. "I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the Department," Pittman said. According to the written document Pittman turned in, as cited by news agency AP, the police chief defended the department’s inability to suppress violence and chaos, saying that the officers were “unsure” whether or not they must deploy lethal force on the protesting crowd.

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(Image Credit: AP)

Updated 13:48 IST, March 3rd 2021

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