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Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy speaks Dec. 6, 2023, during a Republican presidential primary at the University of Alabama. (AP)
Ramaswamy’s Pants on Fire debate claim that Jan. 6 was an ‘inside job’
If Your Time is short
- Hundreds of rioters, many wearing Trump-branded apparel, stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
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Claims that Jan. 6, 2021, was a false flag orchestrated by the FBI have been debunked.
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Evidence from court documents shows that the rioters’ goal was to prevent Congress from accepting the results of the election showing that Donald Trump had lost.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy portrayed himself as a truth-teller during the fourth presidential primary debate in Alabama.
"If you want somebody who’s gonna speak truth to power, then vote for somebody who’s gonna speak the truth to you," he said Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa. But he followed that statement with false claims and a conspiracy theory.
"Why am I the only person on the stage at least who can say that Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job," he said. Ramaswamy then listed a heap of questionable, misleading and wrong comments, including that the 2020 election was "stolen by Big Tech."
The Jan. 6 claim is extraordinarily egregious.
Numerous investigations have found the U.S. Capitol attack was orchestrated and executed by people who supported Donald Trump’s presidency and believed or pushed false claims that the 2020 election was "stolen." Although evidence shows FBI informants were at the Capitol that day, none shows the FBI or its informants instigated the violence that followed.
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Evidence from court documents shows, person by person, who ransacked the Capitol and fought with police officers. The rioters’ goal was preventing Congress from accepting the results of the election showing that Trump had lost. Officials have charged more than 1,200 defendants, more than two-thirds of whom have pleaded guilty or been found guilty at trial so far.
In 17 key findings, the House committee investigating the attack determined Trump himself disseminated false allegations about the election and summoned supporters to the Capitol and directed them to "take back" the country.
We contacted a Ramaswamy’s campaign spokesperson on debate night and did not immediately hear back.
The public record for hundreds of defendants shows that many considered their actions patriotic; they believed they were on the front lines of a revolution or civil war. Rioters scaled walls, broke windows, forced their way into the building and clashed with police.
Among people sentenced for seditious conspiracy are multiple members of far-right groups including the Proud Boys extremist group and militia groups including the Oath Keepers.
How we’ve fact-checked similar claims
Similar claims about Jan. 6 being a "false flag" took off in the months after the insurrection following a blog post by Revolver News, a right-leaning website run by a former Trump White House speechwriter who was fired in 2018 after appearing on a discussion panel with a white nationalist.
The website’s unproven theory focused on charging documents and that the FBI had used informants and undercover operatives to foil an extremist plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A cursory look showed the theory was rife with holes, inaccuracies and circumstantial speculation, which was amplified by multiple pundits and politicians. PolitiFact rated the claim that federal agents directly incited people as False.
In late November, PolitiFact examined a claim by U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., about "ghost buses" carrying undercover FBI agents to the Capitol that day. We rated the unsupported claim False, with experts telling us they were unfamiliar with the term "ghost bus" and that there are reasons the FBI would not bus a group of informants to an event.
Featured Fact-check
PolitiFact named claims that downplay the violence about the Jan. 6 attack its 2021 Lie of the Year.
Our ruling
Ramaswamy said, "Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job."
Numerous investigations into what happened Jan. 6, 2021, including by a congressional committee, have found the U.S. Capitol attack was orchestrated and executed by people who supported Donald Trump’s presidency and believed or pushed false claims that the 2020 election was "stolen." Extensive court records involving more than 1,200 defendants also back this up.
The onus is on Ramaswamy to back up his statement with evidence, and he has failed to do that.
We rate this statement Pants on Fire!
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Our Sources
C-SPAN, Secretary Mayorkas and FBI Director Wray testify on global threats, Part 1, Nov. 15, 2023
New York Times, F.B.I. had Informants in Proud Boys, court papers suggest, Nov. 14, 2023
New York Times, Among those who marched Into the Capitol on Jan. 6: An F.B.I. informant, Sept. 25, 2021
AP, Proud Boys’ Tarrio guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy, May 4, 2023
HuffPost, Clay Higgins claims ‘ghost buses’ brought FBI informants to Washington on Jan. 6, Nov. 15, 2023
Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Final report, Dec. 22, 2022
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The Washington Post, Tough-talking captain in Louisiana sheriff’s office resigns after calling black suspects ‘animals’ in viral video, Feb. 29, 2016
Graphic Designs International, Why ghost police car graphics are becoming so popular, June 10, 2021
WUSA 9, Montgomery County Police deploy hard-to-see 'ghost cruisers' to catch dangerous drivers, July 28, 2023
Newsweek, Proud Boys attorney wants to unmask informants during Jan. 6 trial, April 6, 2023
Committee on the Judiciary, Steven D’Antuono, June 7, 2023
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PolitiFact, No, the Capitol insurrection was not staged by antifa, Jan. 8, 2021
PolitiFact, There’s no proof antifa stormed the Capitol. The rumor spread quickly anyway, Jan. 7, 2021
PolitiFact, How new Jan. 6 revelations on Ray Epps, others undercut Tucker Carlson’s FBI conspiracy theory, Jan. 18, 2022
PolitiFact, Ray Epps didn’t tell Congress he orchestrated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Here’s what he did say, Jan. 6, 2023
PolitiFact, Tucker Carlson’s conspiracy theory about FBI and Jan. 6 continues to be wrong, Nov. 4, 2021
PolitiFact, Tucker Carlson film falsely claims Jan. 6 is ‘pretext to strip millions’ of ‘constitutional rights,’ Nov. 2, 2021
PolitiFact, Yes, Jan. 6 Capitol assault was an "armed insurrection," Feb. 15, 2021
PolitiFact, Ask PolitiFact: Did Capitol Police let mob of Trump supporters in? Jan. 7, 2021
PolitiFact, The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance, Dec. 15, 2021
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PolitiFact, GOP Texas House candidate repeats false claim that FBI agents instigated Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol, Feb. 7, 2022
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The New York Times, F.B.I. had informants in Proud Boys, court papers suggest, Nov. 14, 2022
The New York Times, In Proud Boys Jan. 6 sedition trial, F.B.I. informants abound, March 24, 2023
The New York Times, Among those who marched into the Capitol on Jan. 6: an F.B.I. informant, Sept. 25, 2021
PolitiFact, Misinformation and the Jan. 6 insurrection: When ‘patriot warriors’ were fed lies, June 30, 2021
U.S. Justice Department Office of Public Affairs, Four additional Oath Keepers sentenced for seditious conspiracy related to U.S. Capitol breach, June 2, 2023
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NPR, Proud Boys leaders sentenced to a combined 32 years for Jan. 6 riot, Aug. 31, 2023
Clay Higgins congressional website, Higgins warns conservatives against "Falling for the trap the DOJ/FBI has set," June 11, 2023
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Louisiana Illuminator, Rep. Clay Higgins posts cryptic tweet after Trump indictment, June 9, 2023
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Ramaswamy’s Pants on Fire debate claim that Jan. 6 was an ‘inside job’
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