From antifa to the man in the horned fur hat: PolitiFact checked the gamut of claims about the Capitol riot. Here is a run down. – Austin…

Brandon Mulder|Austin American-Statesman

Theassault on the U.S. Capitol Wednesday produced a flurry of interpretations that ranged from questionable to conspiratorial.

Many of these claims were spawned over social media and quickly became viral. Some caught the attention of political leaders, both on the left and right, who amplified themto their online audiences.

Below is a run down of some of theclaims that have been fact-checkedby PolitiFact.

As Trumps Save America March descended into a riot that saw protestors storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress sought to certify President-elect Joe Bidens win, many of Trumps allies tried to distance themselves and their supporters from the mob by blaming the violence on antifa,a loosely affiliated group of far-left anti-fascism activists.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was one of the first to do so, first over Twitter on Wednesday evening, then on Facebook Thursday morning. "Those who stormed the capitol yesterday were not Trump supporters. They have been confirmed to beAntifa," he wrote, citing a tweet that has since been deleted and a Washington Times article that has since been retracted. PolitiFact rated his claim Pants on Fire.

Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., also took to Twitter to ask his followers not to rush judgment on who was behind the riots at the Capitol Wednesday.

"Please, dont be like #FakeNewsMedia, dont rush to judgment on assault on Capitol. Wait for investigation. All may not be (and likely is not) what appears. Evidence growing that fascist ANTIFA orchestrated Capitol attack with clever mob control tactics," BrookstweetedThursday.

But there have been no credible reports that people who identify as antifa "orchestrated" the riots at the Capitol. Because Brooks did not provide clear and irrefutable evidence, PolitiFact rated his claim Pants on Fire.

One of Californias highest ranking Republican leaders, Sen. Shannon Grove, also took to Twitter to perpetuate false antifa rumors.

"Patriots dont act like this !!! This was Antifa," she wrote in a Tweet, which has since been deleted.

Her post cited a separate tweet and photo from attorney and Trump supporter Lin Wood He claimed two men in the photo are affiliated with antifa.

But one of the men wasquicklyidentifiedbyjournalistswho track far-right extremism as aneo-Nazi. PolitiFact rated her claim Pants on Fire.

One of the reasons baseless antifa claims spread like wildfire online was a Washington Times story posted Jan. 6 with the headline, "Facial recognition firm claims Antifa infiltrated Trump protesters who stormed Capitol."

The story sourced information putatively from a Singapore-based facial recognition technology company that reportedly identified members of the mob as people with antifa ties. But the company the Washington Times sourced refuted the report, saying that it was never in contact with the newspaper about the story. By Thursday, the story was retracted. But that didnt stop social media users from sharing the story thousands of times. PolitiFact rated these claims False.

One of the most noticeable rioters in video and photos was Jake Angeli, who is known as "Q Shaman" and is easily identifiable byhishorned fur cap. Angeli is a well known Trump supporter and Q Anon conspiracy theorist from Arizona, where he regularly attends rallies in his iconic garb. In December, Angeli launched an online crowdfunding campaign to fund his participation in pro-Trump events.

But even he faced online allegations that he was an antifa member masquerading as a Trump supporter. In a tweet, he fended off those allegations, and PolitiFact later rated those claims Pants on Fire.

I am not antifa or blm," Angelis tweet said. "I'm a Qanon & digital soldier. My name is Jake & I marched with the police & fought against BLM & ANTIFA in PHX."

Wisconsin state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, D-Milwaukee, expressed his concern over a woman who was shot and killed during the riots. In a Thursday tweet, he described the events this way:

"The Trump Terrorist who was put down during the violent mob assault wasnt (as they claimed) shot by the Capitol Police, they were (physically) on her side. Instead it was a secret service agent who discharged his firearm while doing his duty to protect democracy."

But it wasnt a Secret Service agent who fired at the woman. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said that it was a Capitol Police officer who was responsible for the shooting and has been placed on administrative leave. PolitiFact rated Brostoffs claim False.

Footage from a 2017 demonstration began circulating on Facebook this week that depicts police officers escorting a group of people many in wheelchairs down a hallway in the capitol building as they chant in unison.

But many people are confusing it with the events that happened in Washington last week, when a mob of President Donald Trumps supporters stormed the Capitol.PolitiFact rated these claims False.

One popular Facebook posttargeted four Democratic women in Congress by superimposing their faces in front of burning buildings: U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Each photo includes a quote purportedly from the lawmaker that sounds like she is stoking unrest. The post claims these are "direct quotes" from when Black Lives Matter "was BURNING down cities and killing people in the streets!"

Some of the quotes are legitimate, but some are outdated and unrelated to the Black Lives Matter protests, and others are taken out of context.PolitiFact rated the postMostly False.

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From antifa to the man in the horned fur hat: PolitiFact checked the gamut of claims about the Capitol riot. Here is a run down. - Austin...