A right-wing outlet came out with an article purporting to solve one of the longest-standing mysteries about the Jan. 6 attack: who planted pipe bombs at the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters?
According to The Blaze's scoop, it was a female CIA employee who formerly worked for the Capitol Police — as evidenced by a "forensic match" in camera footage, including "gait analysis." But just days after it was posted and large portions of the right-wing media sphere ran with it, the story is falling apart — and the outlet appears to have opened itself up to a potential "mammoth libel lawsuit," Will Sommer wrote for The Bulwark on Monday.
"The article’s claims seemed like the first major development in a mystery that has befuddled Washington for years," wrote Sommer. "They were quickly picked up by leading Republicans, including Trump appointee Kari Lake and several Republican members of Congress. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), the chair of the House’s new January 6th subcommittee, promoted the story on social media, as did Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Rep. Anna Paulina Luna declared on X that 'a capitol police officer placed a pipe bomb at the RNC on J6,' adding that the Blaze story was proof that Republicans would 'all be in the gulag' if not for Trump."
However, this story's evidence is shaky at best, Sommer wrote: "Critically, the Blaze didn’t release an actual video comparison or significant details of the gait analysis. Instead, it draws on the work of a man the Blaze called a 'video sleuth,' a little-known X user named Armitas whose online profile image is a picture from the 1998 role-playing video game Xenogears." Meanwhile, it's unclear whether "gait analysis" is even a scientific thing in the first place — and the DOJ and FBI have declined to comment on the story.
Making matters worse, "the woman who was identified by the Blaze as being responsible for laying the pipe bombs was already a target of the MAGA right. She was photographed as one of the officers firing pepper balls at January 6th rioters, and later testified against January 6th participants in at least two cases, according to court records" — which raises speculation she was targeted for this story specifically in retaliation by the far-right. And the story also had to be corrected soon after going to print, as it wrongly stated her role at the CIA was security detail for Director John Ratcliffe, when she is actually a security guard.
Since it went to print, few other right-wing websites have picked it up, and some of the lawmakers who originally tweeted it, like Luna, have quietly removed it. Meanwhile, Julie Kelly, a prominent MAGA figure who pushes Jan. 6 apologist conspiracy theories, called the story "weak," causing a civil war among other far-right pundits who accused her of misdirecting to collect the FBI's $500,000 bounty.
Even Glenn Beck, who initially ran with the story, is now refusing to name the woman accused by the story on his show, Sommer noted; the right-wing talk radio host said, “This person of interest is still a citizen whose life carries the same dignity and presumption of innocence as yours and mine. I can’t tell you what is true in this story yet.”