2 hr 23 min ago
Wray refutes claims that Antifa and leftists added to Capitol riot
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz and Zachary Cohen
Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images
FBI Director Christopher Wray resoundingly said Antifa and other leftists were not part of the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
"We have
not, to date, seen any evidence of anarchist violence extremists or people subscribing to Antifa in connection to the 6th," Wray told the Senate on Tuesday.
"We're coming after it" if there's violence from both the left and the right, he added, but in the Capitol, there
wasn't evidence of leftists adding fuel to the insurrection.
Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin had asked Wray if he had seen evidence that the attack was organized by "fake Trump protesters."
"We have not seen evidence of that, at this stage, certainly," Wray responded.
This knocks down
a baseless claim that has been pushed by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in recent weeks, as he has sought to downplay the damage committed by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
More than 260 defendants — many of them professing allegiance to Trump, disgust for Congress and support of revolution — have been charged in federal court related to their actions in and around the US Capitol siege on January 6.
Previously, nearly a dozen Trump supporters charged in connection with the US Capitol insurrection have said that Antifa and other left-wing groups weren't involved in the attack,
further debunking the conspiracy among Trump supporters.