Fact-finding, unsubstantiated claims by Republicans that Antifa has infiltrated the Capitol riot

“There is growing evidence that the fascist ANTIFA orchestrated an attack on the Capitol with clever crowd control tactics,” said Brooks, an Alabama Republican, tweeted Thursday morning.

“It has all the marks of the Antifa provocation,” Gosar, an Arizona Republican, I wrote Wednesday

Gaetz was more specific on Wednesday night when he quoted, on the floor of the House – and under the boo of his fellow Democrats – an article in the Washington Times, which has since been removed from his website. The article said that a facial recognition company, XRVision, “claims that Antifa has infiltrated the Trump protesters who invaded the Capitol.”

The Florida congressman began by saying he did not “know if the news was true”, but went on to quote the Washington Times article, saying it contained “convincing evidence” that Antifa had infiltrated the ranks of protesters who supported Trump.

“(S) name of the people who violated the Capitol today were not Trump supporters,” said Gaetz. “They were masquerading as supporters of Trump and, in fact, were members of the violent anti-terrorist group.”

Facts first: None of this is true. The company quoted by the Washington Times told two media outlets that the story is false. In addition, right-wing extremists were identified in the crowd that invaded the Capitol and CNN, until the publication of this article, saw no evidence of a left infiltration into the crowd.

XRVision and the Washington Times did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment prior to publication.

“XRVision prides itself on the accuracy of its technology and considers the Washington Times publication to be totally false, misleading and defamatory,” XRVision said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Our lawyer is in contact with the Washington Times and has instructed them to ‘Cease and desist’ from any complaints related to the provision of XRVision reviews, withdraw current complaints and publish and (sic) apologies.”