False claim video shows witness 'accidentally admit to FBI Jan. 6 crime' | Fact check

The claim: Video shows witness 'accidentally admit to FBI Jan. 6 crime'

A Sept. 2 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows Sens. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, and Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, questioning government witnesses during a January 2022 Senate hearing focused on domestic terrorism.

"'WE CAUGHT RAY EPPS' Wray HIDES LIKE RAT After Witness ACCIDENTALLY Admit To FBI 'Jan. 6 C..rime (sic),'" reads the video's caption.

The post was shared more than 1,000 times in less than a week.

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

Our rating: False

The video is miscaptioned. No one in the video admits to a crime. No one says, "We caught Ray Epps." FBI Director Christopher Wray is not shown in the video.

Video is miscaptioned

The video shows the senators questioning Matthew Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security, and Jill Sandborn, then the executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch.

Ray Epps is a supporter of former President Donald Trump who was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters infamously breached the building. Epps' purported behavior at the Capitol that day has sparked a wide array of unproven claims by conservatives, including former President Donald Trump. Epps has not been charged in connection with the riot.

While questioning Olsen, Cotton discusses Epps − at one point saying, "During the Jan. 6 riots last year, Mr. Epps was caught on video several times." However, no one says, "We caught Ray Epps."

Fact check: Video shows Greene questioning witness, not Merrick Garland crying

USA TODAY has debunked many posts that pair congressional footage with an inaccurate and provocative title − a type of misinformation called "false framing," according to Mike Caulfield, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Mike Caulfield, Sept. 6, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• C-SPAN, Jan. 11, 2022, Justice Department Officials Testify on Threat of Domestic Terrorism

• Arizona Central, July 20, What was Ray Epps doing at the US Capitol on Jan. 6? A conspiracy theory is swirling

• New York Times, May 5, 2022, New Evidence Undercuts Jan. 6 Instigator Conspiracy Theory

• New York Times, July 12, Arizona Man Cited in Conspiracy Theories Sues Fox News for Defamation

• USA TODAY, Feb. 9, 2021, Timeline: How the storming of the U.S. Capitol unfolded on Jan. 6

• USA TODAY, Aug. 31, Capitol riot arrests: See who's been charged across the U.S.

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

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

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miscaptioned video misleads about Jan. 6 Senate hearing | Fact check