FACT CHECK: Image Allegedly Showing Underneath The Capitol Building Is AI-Generated
The image is not genuine, but instead was created with artificial intelligence (AI).
Meet the Jan 6 political prisoner who's now running for Congress
Once a lawmaker in the state of West Virginia, Derrick Evans has now done a stint in prison.
His crime? Being at the Capitol on January 6.
Evans served three months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of civil disorder, but his lawmaking career isn’t over yet. Evans is running for a House seat in 2024.
“It was the most patriotic day of my life,” Evans tells Pat Gray after noting that the reaction to January 6 completely ignores the fact that the “Democrats bombed the Capitol in the 80s.”
“There were patriots from all over this country waving flags. There were women and children. There were veterans in wheelchairs, by and large, no pun intended, a mostly peaceful protest,” Evans explains.
Evans recalls being outside the east rotunda doors when they opened up from the inside. That’s when he decided to walk through the doors, before thanking a police officer.
The recent political prisoner caught himself on video telling the police officer “God Bless” and receiving a friendly fist bump from him, inviting Evans into the building.
“It’s all on video so people can watch it,” Evans explains.
“I spend less than 10 minutes inside the public rotunda area reminding people to be peaceful and non-destructive, walked back out the same set of doors I entered and ultimately found myself facing 24 years in prison as the weaponized deep state came to my house, and took me away from my wife and my four young children and threw me in prison,” he recalls.
After January 6, Evans was de-platformed from social media. He had around 70,000 followers on Facebook and had livestreamed the entire event.
“It didn’t take them long to find me because I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. I thought maybe I would get like a $100 ticket,” he tells Gray.
Evans was arrested two days after January 6.
“The heinous crime, truly, in the eyes of the government,” Evans says, “is being an elected representative who had the courage to go into the middle of the swamp and speak out against the tyranny that we find ourselves living under today.”
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Democrat Jamaal Bowman attempts to explain why he pulled Capitol fire alarm – but somehow makes things worse for himself: Photos
Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York was caught on video pulling a fire alarm in a Capitol office building on Saturday shortly before a House vote to avert a government shutdown. The progressive politician and member of the so-called "Squad" is offering an explanation as to why he triggered the fire alarm – but many aren't buying it.
Ahead of the critical House vote to avoid a government shutdown, Bowman is seen pulling a fire alarm at the Cannon House Office Building on Saturday afternoon.
Bowman – a principal for more than 10 years – claimed that he set off the fire alarm because he believed it would open a door.
"Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open," Bowman said in a statement. "I'm embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door."
Bowman asserted that his actions were not "in any way trying to delay any vote," adding, "It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I did."
The Democrat said he met with the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police at their request following the incident.
He concluded, "My hope is that no one will make more of this than it was."
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However, many are saying that Bowman may have committed crimes by pulling the fire alarm during the critical vote in Congress. Bowman's actions were compared to non-violent participants of the January 6 Capitol riot.
Lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon: "Whoever put this statement out, or gave legal advice on it, or tried to cover it up with lies, is part of a criminal conspiracy to interfere with the operations of our revered Congress. RICO charges for all involved! Isn’t that how it works?"
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah): "Does anyone believe the 'I thought the fire alarm would open the door' line?"
Journalist Jake Sherman: "For those who work on Capitol Hill — or even those who don’t — this makes no sense. 1) have you in your life ever activated a fire alarm in a large public building to open a door? 2) there are tunnels that take you from this building straight to the Capitol. It’s very easy. I do it daily."
Commentator Siraj Hashmi: "Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who doesn’t give his political opponents the benefit of the doubt, is asking his political opponents to give him the benefit of the doubt."
Lawyer David Freiheit: "There is a photo from security footage, so obviously there is a video. Can we see the video to see if confirms or contradicts @JamaalBowmanNY’s version of events? Because committing a misdemeanor to impede Congress could land him in jail. For a very, very long time. No one is above the law, after all. Right?"
Political correspondent Byron York: "'Whoever corruptly...obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.' Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman set off fire alarm to disrupt House work on averting a government shutdown. Triggered evacuation of House office building."
Journalist Julie Kelly: "Rep. Bowman clearly violated numerous laws including 1512(c)(2) obstruction of an official proceeding. At least 320 Jan 6 defendants including Donald Trump have been charged with this felony count. This includes defendants who didn’t enter the building."
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) told Fox News: "That any member of Congress would think it’s appropriate to pull a fire alarm to try and delay Congress from doing its business is shameful, it’s unbecoming, and he should strongly consider resigning from Congress if he did that."
Journalist John Hasson posted photos of the exit area where Bowman pulled the alarm.
There is no button to open the doors, they must be opened manually.
There is a bright red sign indicating that this exit is an "EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY."
At one point, there were two red signs on the doors that read: "EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS (3 SECONDS) DOOR WILL UNLOCK IN 30 SECONDS."
The two signs on the door don't appear in the photo from the moment that Bowman pulled the fire alarm.
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Man crashes car into barricade near Capitol, vehicle goes up in flames, he fires gun, then shoots himself
A man shot himself after crashing his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol building early Sunday morning.
An unidentified man rammed his car into a barrier at East Capitol Street and Second Street. The man escaped the vehicle while it "became engulfed in flames," according to a statement from the U.S. Capitol Police.
The man then reportedly fired shots into the air along East Capitol Street. Capitol Police approached the man, and he then committed suicide by shooting himself in the front area of the Capitol building.
Authorities say nobody else was hurt.
"At this time, it does not appear the man was targeting any Members of Congress, who are on recess, and it does not appear officers fired their weapons," the statement from the Capitol Police read.
Capitol Police are " looking into the man's background."
Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department has launched an investigation into the man's death.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more details become available.
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