Claim: Vivek Ramaswamy claims Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection was an “inside job”
False
The claim that the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol was an “inside job” by law enforcement agencies, put forth by Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is false owing to the fact that there is no evidence of the FBI orchestrating the attacks.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told a CNN reporter after a GOP debate on December 6th that the Jan. 6 Capitol attack was an “inside job” orchestrated by the FBI, which he later posted about on X. One of the main claims he put forward was that during the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol, there was “entrapment”, which he defined as “the police goaded people into doing something they otherwise wouldn't have done, and then they arrest them for doing it.”
The Jan. 6 Capitol attack was the storming of the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 by a mob of supporters of then president Donald Trump. The attack disrupted a session of Congress which had convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Joe Biden. In the weeks leading up to the Capitol attack, Trump continued to claim that democrats had “stolen” the presidential election which cheated Trump of millions of votes. All his claims were disproved.
Ramaswamy’s claim that the Jan. 6 attacks were an “inside job” by the FBI has been refuted by FBI director Christopher Wray, who testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing June 15, 2021. Later at a separate hearing July 12, 2023, Wray said it was “ludicrous” to suggest that the FBI was involved in the attack on the Capitol.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, almost 1,100 defendants face criminal charges in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, more than two thirds of whom have pleaded guilty.
In Ramaswamy’s post on X, CNN reporter [name] questioned whether the events on Jan. 6 were a result of Trump’s beckoning, to which Ramaswamy replied, “well I think that was the media narrative.”
Following the Jan. 6 attacks, there was criticism that the FBI had prior knowledge of the attacks but did not share information about them. A Senate report from June 2021 details how the FBI was aware of what was about to happen —or had begun happening— but failed to sound the alarm.
Ramaswamy’s claim that the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol were an “inside job” is false. There is no evidence that the FBI orchestrated the attacks. There is, however, evidence that the attacks were a result of Trump’s repeated calls to riot on Jan. 6; “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”
Further reading:
Jan Wolfe. Reuters. Trump's False Claims Debunked: The 2020 Election and Jan. 6 Riot. 6 January, 2022.
Brian Duignan. Britannica. January 6 U.S. Capitol Attack. 4 August, 2021.
FBI Testimony. Examining the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. 15 June, 2021.
Farnoush Amiri. Associated Press/PBS. WATCH: FBI Director Chris Wray Defends the ‘real FBI’ Against Criticism from House Republicans. 12 July, 2023.
Bo Erickson, Scott Macfarlane, Michael Kaplan.CBS News. Government Watchdog Report Finds FBI, Capitol Police Identified but Didn't Share "Credible Threats" Before Jan. 6. 28 Feb, 2023.
United States Senate. EXAMINING THE U.S. CAPITOL ATTACK: A REVIEW OF THE SECURITY, PLANNING, AND RESPONSE FAILURES ON JANUARY 6.
Mary Clare Jalonick. PBS. FBI, Homeland Security Ignored ‘Massive Amount’ of Intelligence Before Jan. 6, Senate Report Says. 27 June, 2023.
