Right-Wing Media Is Desperate To Blame Antifa For The Pro-Trump Capitol Riots

Only hours after a violent pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an attack on the country’s rule of law and democratic process, right-wing media and Trump-aligned government officials had already begun spreading unverified rumors and misinformation in an attempt to direct blame away from the president — and their own audience. Instead, a new narrative emerged that antifa was responsible.   Despite well-documented white nationalist Trump supporters livestreaming themselves breaking into the Capitol building alongside hundreds of others brandishing MAGA paraphernalia and displaying their zealotry for the president, top-rated hosts on Fox News, Fox Business and other right-wing outlets and media activists all promoted baseless allegations that “antifa” leftists had somehow infiltrated the protests and caused the violent unrest.  After months of fanning conspiracy theories around election fraud and defending President Donald Trump’s increasingly anti-democratic actions, right-wing media almost immediately contorted the facts of Wednesday’s pro-Trump riot to shift blame toward anyone but themselves, the president or the far-right extremists among his supporters.  All three of Fox News’ primetime hosts ― Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham ― featured baseless suggestions on Wednesday that “antifa” or outside forces could have been involved in the chaos. Carlson hosted a right-wing YouTuber who brought up the claim, which he did not question. (Carlson also suggested this past year’s anti-racism protests contributed to the riot, and that conservative thought was somehow under attack.) Ingraham alluded to “antifa” during an afternoon interview, and during her primetime show claimed without evidence that those who stormed the building were “likely not all Trump supporters.” Hannity similarly blamed outside influence and defended Trump supporters, demanding to know “who the agitators were.” None discussed that Trump had directly incited his followers to march toward the Capitol minutes before the chaos at a rally where he vowed to “never concede” the presidential election, which he falsely claims to have won.  The downplaying and deflection of the violence at the Capitol, which resulted in one woman killed in a shooting and three dead in medical emergencies, prevailed throughout right-wing media. On far-right channel Newsmax, which has increased its ratings since the election as it promoted pro-Trump conspiracy theories, host Greg Kelly claimed without evidence that “antifa and outside agitators could be involved in all of this.”   On the House floor Wednesday night, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) amplified those claims while citing a false report from right-wing media outlet Washington Times. The outlet cited facial recognition company XRVision to make false claims that two of the people in the Capitol building had been identified as antifa supporters, but that claim ― which Washington Times provided no evidence for in its report ― was

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