Fact check: Arrests were made inside Capitol building on Jan. 6, and after

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·6 min read
13

The claim: No one was arrested inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021

Federal authorities have arrested more than 800 people in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and investigations are still ongoing.

Still, as the House committee probing the attack has been holding public hearings, some are arguing no arrests have been made. In a July 13 Facebook post, video bloggers Ineitha Lynnette Hardaway and Herneitha Rochelle Hardaway Richardson – known as Diamond and Silk – claim that no one was arrested inside the Capitol building the day of the riot.

"Why was nobody arrested inside of the Capitol on January 6th if a crime was being committed?" reads the post.

The post generated over 42,000 interactions and 2,400 shares in less than a week. Similar posts have amassed hundreds of interactions on Instagram.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

But the claim is baseless.

Several people were arrested inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6., and hundreds were arrested and charged in the weeks following the 2021 attack.

Arrests took place inside Capitol and the weeks following attack

A federal indictment shows that six people were arrested inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6 and later charged on four counts: entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building.

Other arrests also took place that day.

The U.S. Capitol Police arrested 14 people on Jan. 6, including the six defendants named in the indictment and four others for unlawful entry, according to a press release. At least three people were arrested outside the Capitol on that day, Lead Stories reported. The Metropolitan Police Department also published arrests it made on Jan. 6 on charges related to unlawful entry and curfew violation.

Since the police at the scene were violently attacked and outnumbered, they had a limited number of officers who could make arrests. "Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted Jan. 6 at the Capitol, including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department,"according to the Department of Justice.

Fact check: False claim that Supreme Court overturned 2020 election

At a hearing investigating the attack, police officers recounted their experiences on that day. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell told the House panel he engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the rioters, and he likened it to a "medieval" battle. DC Metro officer Michael Fanone said the rioters ripped off his badge and radio.

“They began to beat me with their fists and what felt like hard metal objects,” Fanone said. "I was electrocuted again and again and again with a taser."

The Justice Department's website includes an updated list of arrests and charges compiled from public court documents. More than 855 defendants tied to the attack have been arrested in "nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia."

Approximately 747 defendants were charged with "entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds," according to the website. More than 280 defendants were charged with "corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so," and approximately 263 defendants were charged with "assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees."

Other charges on the website include assaulting members of the media, conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, destruction of government property, theft of government property, and entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.

Charges related to disruption of government processes

Diamond and Silk told USA TODAY in an emailed statement that their intent was to ask why no one was arrested inside the Capitol building for insurrection.

"Perhaps we should have included the word insurrection so that it wouldn't be confusing for the fact checkers," Diamond and Silk said. "Apparently everyone else knew what we were talking about."

But that is far from the case. The post questioned why no one was arrested inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6 "if a crime was being committed." The post didn't specify what that crime was, and some users interpreted the post to mean that no one was arrested inside the building on the day of the attack.

Fact check: Some Republican groups voted to reject certified 2020 election results

"That’s what I don’t understand. Inside and out should have all been arrested if the Capitol police didn’t do their jobs!" one user commented on the post.

Another comment on the Facebook post reads "Right! The capital police were Right there the whole time. Because it was all staged."

The six people arrested inside the Capitol building were charged on counts related to disrupting government proceedings. For instance, they were charged with disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building with the intent to "impede and disrupt the orderly conduct of government business and official functions," according to the indictment.

They were also charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building with the intent to "impede, disrupt, and disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress," the indictment says.

USA TODAY has debunked several claims regarding the Jan. 6 attack, including baseless assertions that FBI operatives organized the attack on the U.S. Capitol and that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected then-President Trump's request for 10,000 National Guard troops to be deployed before Jan. 6.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that no one was arrested inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Several people were arrested inside the Capitol on the day of the attack, and hundreds of arrests have been made since.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim that no arrests were made in Capitol on Jan. 6