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FACT BRIEF

Did Ron Johnson say "To call what happened on Jan. 6 an ‘armed insurrection,’ I just think it's inaccurate"?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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YES

Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said at a Milwaukee Rotary Club event on Oct. 4, "To call what happened on Jan. 6 an ‘armed insurrection,’ I just think it's inaccurate." Johnson cited the fact that no guns were seized by police that day. 

A spokesperson told NBC News that Johnson believes participants in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection received unfair scrutiny compared to those in the 2020 protests after the killing of George Floyd, including use of weapons.

Johnson has made similar comments in the past. But as NPR noted in 2021, some participants were charged with carrying weapons, including "stun guns, pepper spray, baseball bats and flagpoles wielded as clubs." 

And in July, as the Jan. 6 House hearings and prosecutions progressed, the Washington Post reported on multiple accounts of people carrying guns on the Capitol grounds that day, including four who were criminally charged.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
NBC News Sen. Johnson: Calling Jan. 6 an 'armed insurrection' is not accurate
The Independent Senator Ron Johnson claims January 6 wasn’t ‘armed insurrection’ but did ‘teach us how you can use a flag pole’
NPR Yes, Capitol rioters were armed. here are the weapons prosecutors say they used
Wisconsin Public Radio From the insurrection to the election, Ron Johnson courts controversy as he weighs third term
NBC News Sen. Ron Johnson acknowledges texting with Trump attorney on Jan 6
Washington Post Evidence of firearms in Jan. 6 crowd grows as arrests and trials mount
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.