Far-right rushes to delete false J6 conspiracy — but not Sen. Mike Lee

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) shared an image of a Jan. 6 attacker with a claim that he was a secret FBI agent. He was proved wrong, but still won't delete the claim.

A conspiracy theory spread through Saturday that a man entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, flashed a police badge to a cop and was ushered inside. It's part of the right's ongoing attempt to claim that hundreds of FBI agents flooded into the building, leading Donald Trump's supporters into the building.

Last week, a Trump appointee, FBI Director Christopher Wray, appeared before the House, where Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) raged over a photo of buses parked in a garage. He claimed that the buses were filled with secret FBI agents.

A Republican candidate for Congress in West Virginia, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder and spent three months in prison, is the one who posted the conspiracy.

Lee shared the post, saying, "I can’t wait to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about this at our next oversight hearing. I predict that, as always, his answers will be 97% information-free."

The social media site, previously known as Twitter, included a fact-check dispelling the lie, saying, "The person in the photo is Kevin Lyons. He has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for his illegal activities inside the Capitol on J6. He is not a police officer and is not holding a badge. He is carrying a vape and a photograph and wallet stolen from Pelosi's office."

NBC News justice reporter Ryan Rilley submitted one of the many screen captures fact-checking the senator's claim.

Progressive group Meidas Touch posted a screen capture of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) since-deleted part of the post, removing the photo and editing the part where she falsely claimed the conspiracy was legit. Other far-right commentators have followed suit or deleted it entirely. Lee, however, is not one of them.

Former Republican strategist Tim Miller pointed to the fact that people like Lee in such high positions of power should spend a few minutes googling before they post.

"A Senator looks at a grainy photo of a vape pen 3 years after the storming of the Capitol and wonders if the smoking device might be evidence that the guy in the MAGA hat was really secret FBI. This is Dude Where’s My Car level legislating," said Miller.

"Generally, people in power should google and learn facts before asking bullshit questions…unless they aren't actually interested in answers and just spreading propaganda," he later posted.

See Greene and Lee's posts below: