CLAIM: Security camera footage from Jan. 6, 2021, shows a federal agent disguised as a supporter of then-President Donald Trump during the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The footage shows Kevin James Lyons, a Chicago man who was sentenced in July to more than four years in federal prison for his role in the attack. Multiple images of Lyons at the Capitol, dressed as he is in the footage, appear in court documents.
THE FACTS: After House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday began releasing thousands of hours of footage from the Capitol insurrection, social media users — including members of Congress — seized on a clip they claimed proved that undercover federal agents participated in the riot.
Releasing security tapes give insurgent strategists the opportunity to review evacuation procedures and plan their next coup attempt.
Anyone who thinks this will not be repeated has not been paying attention to history.