Fact Check: An Arizona State Rep Claims Antifa Members Were ‘Confirmed’ to be at the Capitol

He repeated claims from an already-debunked Washington Times article.

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Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem released a statement in which he claimed “the use of facial recognition software” proved Antifa was present at the storming of the Capitol. He also wrote that participants were “positively identified as Antifa infiltrators.”

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  1. Avatar photo
    Blake

    So, I agree Antifa didn’t have anything to do with 1/6. But antifa also says they’re not an “organization” and this guy was confirmed inside the capitol (he filmed the lady getting shot, actually) and a local Utah station interviewed him about it. He says he’s not officially Antifa, but if you have Antifa Instagram posts of how to build a guillotine and NYE break people out of jail party fliers, you’re not exactly NOT a radical either. It seems to me media would be able to be honest about this radical left guy being there to be like “look, violent radicals actually have a lot in common in the sense that they just really like to cause chaos and violence (also, they all live with their mothers) but instead everyone insists there’s NO evidence any Antifa people were there. I’m not calling you out here, at all. You’re fact checking a completely insane lie, for sure. But, again, it seems like often media and leaders are afraid to tell the complete truth if it lends any ounce of credibility to some crazier theory or argument (It was a false flag riot by Antifa, the riots were mostly peaceful, Trump’s refusal to admit Russia even tried to tamper with elections...etc)
    https://instagram.com/insurgence_usa?igshid=1oxusb3pw4ehb

    https://www.ksl.com/article/50083768/utah-activist-inside-us-capitol-says-woman-killed-was-first-to-try-to-enter-house-chamber

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  2. Avatar photo
    Tom B.

    An AZ GOP rep you say? Repeating debunked pro-Trump misinformation you say? I just . . . I can't believe it!

    Next, you'll tell me that Donald Trump did not really win the election! Oh Alec, you rascal you.

    Seriously though, thank you for all of your work on the Sisyphean task of these fact checks.

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  3. Avatar photo
    DougAz

    California is sometimes derided unjustly as the land of Fruits and Nuts. FLASH !!!

    Arizona is now the declared ballot winner of the Fruits and Nuts rankings.

    Kelli Ward. F&N chair
    Paul Gosar. F&N public relations
    Joe Arpaio F&N enforcer

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About Alec Dent

Alec Dent is the culture editor and a staff writer for The Dispatch. He is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC Chapel Hill, and previously oversaw The Dispatch's fact checking team.
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