A newspaper in Tyler, Texas, on Friday described the US Capitol protesters as anti-fascists from the political left, but hours later he promised to correct the characterization.
The Tyler Morning Telegraph, which serves 107,000 inhabitants, 50% non-whites of the city in eastern Texas, published a photo of Associated Press protesters with the caption: “Antifa members dressed as supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the US Capitol on Wednesday in Washington. “
Supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday quickly and violently seized the Capitol. Five deaths, including that of a police officer, occurred during the disturbances. Trump initially embraced the rowdies, tweeting, “We love you.” But then he denounced the offenders, saying, “You will pay.”
Fox News commentators, including Lou Dobbs, and a few others from the political right, including US deputy Mo Brooks, R-Ala., Suggested that the “antifa” agitators helped to unleash the violence.
“I think a lot of that is the antifa people,” former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin said on Fox News on Wednesday night.
So far, the alleged participants in the capital’s siege identified through photos and videos appear to be Trump supporters or far-right activists.
The Texas newspaper tweeted on Friday afternoon that it is aware of the caption “where we incorrectly identified protesters as members of Antifa” and promised to correct the description on all of its platforms.
“This was entered by one person and does not represent the views or opinions of the Tyler Morning Telegraph,” he said.
Editor John Anderson said by email that the caption “was not made by an editorial” or by the AP. He suggested that he was trying to find out what happened.
