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FBI Official Nukes Key Capitol Riot Narrative, 'To My Knowledge' Zero Firearms Confiscated

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A top FBI official investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol testified before the Senate on Wednesday that no firearms were confiscated that day.

The admission certainly undermines the “armed insurrection” narrative the Democrats and their allies in the establishment media have been pushing for the past two months.

The image that an armed insurrection calls to mind is firearms, not the makeshift weapons some of the rioters employed that day, such as bear spray and a flagpole.

FBI Assistant Director of Counterterrorism Jill Sanborn told a joint hearing of the Senate Rules and Homeland Security committees that 300 people have been charged so far with various crimes due to their conduct on Jan. 6.

Of them, 40 have been charged with assault. Other crimes have included disorderly conduct and trespassing, Sanborn said.

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“How many firearms were confiscated in the Capitol or on the Capitol grounds that day?” GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin asked the FBI official.

“To my knowledge, we have not recovered any on that day from any of the arrests at the scene at this point,” Sanborn answered.

“But I don’t want to speak on behalf of Metro and Capitol Police, but to my knowledge, none,” she said.

Johnson confirmed again with Sanborn that nobody had been charged with having a firearm in the Capitol or Capitol grounds.

“Correct,” she answered. “The closest we came was the vehicle that had the Molotov cocktails in it, and when we did a search of that vehicle later on, there was a weapon.”

Presumably, based on her answer, that vehicle was some distance away.



Having worked at the Capitol and visited many times since, I know there isn’t any public parking within at least a few block radius of the Capitol grounds.

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“How many shots were fired that we know of?” Johnson also wanted to know.

“I believe the only shots that were fired were the ones that resulted in the death of the one lady,” Sanborn answered.

That lady was 35-year-old Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, who was unarmed.

Are you surprised by the FBI official's answer?

Federal authorities reportedly opened an excessive force investigation into her death last month.

Sanborn’s testimony definitely shoots a big, fat hole in the narrative that the rioters engaged in an “armed insurrection,” at least in the commonly understood meaning of the phrase.

What happened on Jan. 6 was entirely unacceptable, and the lawbreakers should be prosecuted.

But let’s not make it more than it was, which was the misguided conduct of a relative few thugs among the hundreds of thousands of former President Donald Trump’s supporters in Washington that day.

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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