Some commentators and elected officials have suggested that antifa was responsible for the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Given antifa’s violent history and animosity toward President Donald Trump and Republicans, such a claim should not be dismissed without investigation.
To date — based on a thorough review of their online and social media presence as well as court records — only one person charged in D.C. federal court in connection to the riot has described themself as an “anti-fascist.” There’s no indication that the remaining individuals facing charges have any apparent ties to the far-left group.
Additionally, the Daily Caller and the Daily Caller News Foundation had a combined six reporters at the Capitol building during the riot, all of whom said the crowd and the participants did not seem to include a significant antifa presence. Most of those reporters spent the summer covering Black Lives Matter and antifa protests and riots.
Federal investigators are looking into whether there was an organized subsection of instigators at the Capitol riot that riled the crowd up into a frenzy, according to CNN. The FBI is examining evidence that indicates some participants at President Donald Trump’s rally outside the White House left early to retrieve weapons for use at the Capitol, CNN reported.
Caller Chief Video Editor Richie McGinniss, who was inside the Capitol building covering the riot, noted that there was a small subsection of the mob that came dressed in all black with masks that concealed their identity and weapons to commit vandalism.
But McGinniss, who covered numerous riots throughout the summer, said he could not positively identify the rioters at the Capitol with crowbars and bats as members of antifa. He noted that the leader of the Proud Boys, a far-right militant group, wrote on Parler prior to the event that his group would be going into D.C. that day incognito.
“The Proud Boys will turn out in record numbers on Jan 6th but this time with a twist,” Enrique Tarrio wrote. “We will not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow. We will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams.”
Tarrio also wrote that the Proud Boys may dress in all-black gear similar to antifa black bloc militants, according to USA Today.