This debunked right-wing conspiracy theory just resurfaced — and MAGA is all over it

After the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were quick to claim that most of the political violence in the United States is coming from the left. But MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a Never Trump conservative, easily debunked that claim and detailed countless examples of far-right violence — including the hammer attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-California) husband Paul Pelosi; the militia plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's home; the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman; and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

When Nancy Pelosi's January 6 Select Committee was holding hearings, many MAGA Republicans promoted the conspiracy theory that the January 6 insurrection was really carried out by leftists in an effort to smear Trump and the MAGA movement. Now, eight months into Trump's second presidency, that conspiracy theory is making a comeback.

The New Republic's Edith Olmsted, in an article published on September 26, explains, "Republicans have revived an old conspiracy theory that the so-called Deep State staged the January 6 insurrection, after failing to correctly read and understand a batch of documents. The GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on January 6 announced, on X Friday, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had 'finally' revealed that it had deployed 276 agents to the Capitol on January 6, 2021. A closer look at the document revealed that the agents were responding to the rioters, not inciting them. 'This number includes agents that responded to the Capitol grounds as well as inside the Capitol, the pipe bombs, and the red truck that was believed to contain explosive devices as well as CDCs/ADCs.'"

Olmsted adds, "Crucially, Republicans have still provided no evidence that those working with law enforcement were involved in planning the deadly riot, or instigating violence that day."

The fact that the conspiracy theory has zero basis in fact, Olmsted observes, isn't preventing MAGA Republicans from promoting it — including Trump, the Just the News website, and Kari Lake (who lost gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races in Arizona). In a September 26 post on X, formerly Twitter, Lake wrote, "They staged a riot on January 6 to frame patriotic Americans and cover-up a stolen election. Justice is coming."

"But Republicans have never needed any proof to fuel this particular conspiracy theory," Olmsted warns. "In July 2023, Trump shared a meme on Truth Social claiming 'JANUARY 6 WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE DAY THE GOVERNMENT STAGED A RIOT TO COVER UP THE FACT THAT THEY CERTIFIED A FRAUDULENT ELECTION.'"

Read Edith Olmsted's full article for The New Republic at this link.