Republican Senator Aggressively Pushes January 6th Conspiracy Theory

Gage Skidmore | Flickr.com

After Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson released dozens of additional hours of Capitol footage from January 6th, his Senate colleague Mike Lee has been aggressively peddling conspiracy theories about the insurrection.

Lee has been perpetuating the long-standing but unsubstantiated claim that federal agents and informants were among the insurrectionists—or actively inciting them to act.

In particular, Lee has focused on a still image from additional footage of a then-masked intruder in the Capitol hallway.

In the image, there is an object in the perpetrator’s left hand.

Lee, conservative commentator Benny Johnson, and others have baselessly asserted that the object is a law enforcement badge—when in fact, it’s a vape.

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

Detail-oriented Twitter users have helpfully explained to Lee and other conspiracy theorists that the object is a vape and the intruder in question is Kevin Lyons, a Trump supporter currently serving a four-year prison sentence for his participation in the insurrection.

Lyons was photographed at other times during the insurrection, vape in hand. Additionally, he was not a federal agent prior to his arrest, conviction, and sentencing.

None of these facts have prompted a retraction or apology from Senator Lee.

Moreover, Director Wray was recently questioned yet again about the conspiracy theory that federal agents participated in the January 6th insurrection.

His answer:

“If you’re asking whether the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and/or agents… the answer is an emphatic no.”