Image shows man later convicted for role in Jan. 6 riot, not federal agent | Fact check

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Image shows a federal agent posing as a Trump supporter during Jan. 6 riot

A Nov. 19 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a grainy image of a man with his face covered wearing a red Make America Great Again hat.

“This is why they didn’t want us to see the tapes,” the post reads, referring to security camera footage from inside the U.S Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. “Fed disguised as Trump supporter.”

Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, re-shared a post on X questioning whether the image showed a man flashing a badge, saying he "can't wait" to question the FBI director about it.

The post was shared more than 400 times in four days. The Lee post was re-posted more than 3,000 times.

More from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:

Our rating: False

The man in the photo has been previously publicly identified as Kevin James Lyons. He's an HVAC technician, not a federal agent. He has been convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot and was sentenced in July to more than four years in prison.

Image shows man convicted for role in Jan. 6 riot

The image is drawn from security footage released on Nov. 17 by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had pledged to release more than 44,000 additional hours of footage recorded throughout the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Although the man in the image has his face covered, he has been identified repeatedly as Lyons, an Illinois man. There is no evidence that he is a federal agent.

In security footage and images from court filings, Lyons can be seen in the same attire, including a camouflage face and neck covering, glasses and a hoodie with white letters visible through a zip-up winter coat. The images in the court filing include Lyons walking around the office of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and another picture of him holding up a framed photo of Pelosi with the late Rep. John Lewis that he took from her office.

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Lyons was sentenced July 14 to 51 months in prison for his actions on Jan. 6. More than 1,000 people have been arrested for roles in the riot, according to the Department of Justice.

There are no mentions of Lyons being involved with the FBI or other federal agencies in court filings where the information could have proved relevant to the case. Neither the warrant for Lyons’s arrest in 2021 nor the government sentencing memorandum from July mention a relationship with law enforcement. A pre-sentence filing from his attorney says he has been an HVAC technician for all of his adult life.

Social media users have suggested an item in Lyons’ hand looks like a badge being flashed, but NBC News described the item as looking more like a vape.

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

The Associated Press, AFP and Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jan. 6 security footage shows rioter, not federal agent | Fact check