Donald Trump has spent years rewriting the story of the Jan. 6 attack, but in recent weeks, the former president has been leaning into a specific claim: “Not one of those people had a gun,” the Republican said two weeks ago, referring to the insurrectionist rioters.
He added a couple of days later, “There were no guns down there; we didn’t have guns. The others had guns, but we didn’t have guns.” (In context, “we” referred to those attacking the U.S. Capitol, while “the others” referred to law enforcement.)
Soon after, when Trump sat down with Fox News’ Howard Kurtz, the GOP candidate lied once again about the rioters being unarmed. When Kurtz referenced reality, the former president was completely incredulous — as if the very idea that the criminals carried guns was ridiculous.
It’s been a rough week for Trump’s talking point. Bloomberg Law reported:
A Texas man was found guilty of two felony offenses, including carrying a firearm onto Capitol grounds, and two misdemeanor offenses, during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the US Capitol, the Justice Department announced Thursday. According to the DOJ, Mario Mares traveled to Washington carrying various firearms and ammunition. On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Mares and others attended the rally on the National Mall carrying handguns on their persons. Afterward, Mares walked toward the Capitol building, entered the restricted perimeter, and remained on Capitol grounds while carrying their handguns.
Federal prosecutors, in addition to issuing a press release about a judge finding Mares guilty, released a photograph of the rioter’s weapons.
Texas Man Convicted of Carrying Firearm onto Capitol Grounds During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach https://t.co/TzcfOR2smM@NDTXnews @FBIDallas @FBIWFO @CapitolPolice @DCPoliceDept pic.twitter.com/4IMyMax0Z8
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) October 31, 2024
Two days earlier, NBC News reported, “A Donald Trump supporter who, federal authorities say, plotted to kill FBI special agents investigating him on Jan. 6 charges, appears to have been armed with a gun when he became the fourth rioter to breach the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors said at trial Tuesday.”
This, alas, is not the end of the list. It was earlier this year when NBC News reported on John Emanuel Banuelos, who appeared to have been filmed firing gunshots at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
NBC News’ report added, “While numerous rioters were armed with guns on Jan. 6, none were known to have actually fired their weapons; Banuelos is the first to be charged with doing so.”
Despite Republican talk about the rioters not being armed during the pro-Trump violence, the facts have been evident for quite some time. Remember this Washington Post report from two years ago? The full picture of how many among the crowd were armed before the riot occurred is unclear, but court records, trial testimony and accounts from police officers and rioters have supplied growing evidence that multiple people brought firearms to Washington for Jan. 6, 2021. Six men were arrested that day for having guns in the vicinity of the U.S. Capitol, and a seventh who arrived after the riot ended was arrested the following day.
The same report noted one Jan. 6 defendant explaining at his trial that from his vantage point on the west side of the Capitol, he counted eight firearms carried by five people. Other rioters have been charged with taking guns onto the Capitol grounds. A New York Times report highlighted a series of other specific Jan. 6 rioters who were found to have carried firearms during the attack. Trump’s “not one of those people had a gun” line, in other words, keeps getting worse. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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