House Speaker Mike Johnson described January 6 insurrectionists as "people who were just there and happened to be walking through the building" — and a White House correspondent who was present that day had a blunt response.
"LIE," wrote Brian J. Karem, the veteran journalist and former Playboy White House correspondent. "I was there. They were walking through the building, destroying property, spreading feces on the walls, stealing things, rioting and threatening to kill the Vice President. But other than that . . ."
Johnson's remarks surfaced through The Intellectualist, which flagged the clip and noted the claim had already been fact-checked as false.
It was not the first time Johnson has minimized the events of January 6. The Speaker has repeatedly downplayed the violence of that day as Trump has worked to reframe the insurrection as a peaceful protest and pardoned the participants.
Karem was among the journalists working in and around the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters breached the building in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election. More than 1,200 people have been charged in connection with the attack. Before Trump's pardons, hundreds had been convicted.
LIE. I was there. They were walking through the building, destroying property, spreading feces on the walls, stealing things, rioting and threatening to kill the Vice President. But other than that . . . https://t.co/HOTciPUGBO
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) June 5, 2026
