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- Since the murderous siege on the U.S. Capitol, lawmakers have reported various items stolen from their offices. The disinformation surrounding the articles has already started to spread.
- A laptop computer that belonged to an assistant to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was one of the reported stolen items.
- Here’s what we really know about the laptop and some of the claims that have been shared about it.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
When staff at the U.S. Capitol returned to work after the violent insurgency of pro-Trump extremists, they found windows smashed and their offices looted.
A laptop computer that belonged to an assistant to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was one of the reported stolen items.
Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, announced last week that the assistant’s laptop, which he said was “only used for presentations”, had been taken from a conference room from the Capitol.
While far-right activists have already started spreading disinformation about the device – some claiming it was taken by US special forces because it contained evidence of electoral fraud – there is no evidence that this is the case.
The misinformation stems from comments by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney.
McInerney falsely claimed that Antifa was responsible for the riots and that the panic over the laptop, which he says is teeming with damning information, is the reason Democrats have sought to impeach President Donald Trump.
Read more: Right-wing conspiracy theories that fueled the Capitol siege will spark more violence
Ken McGraw, a public affairs officer with US Special Operations Command, told USA TODAY on Wednesday that the agency had nothing to do with the missing laptop.
“We have not received any reports or information that members of special forces or other special operations forces units entered the United States Capitol on January 6 and stole the laptops of President Pelosi or any other member of Congress during the riot, ”he told USA Today.
Another viral misrepresentation about the laptop alleged that Trump was at Cheyenne Mountain Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Examining “evidence” taken on the laptop.
According to Snopes, that claim appeared to come from an article on the right-wing social media platform Speak, which has since gone offline after Amazon stopped hosting the website due to violent content.
The post also falsely claimed that Pelosi was “arrested at the border” and would be taken to an “undisclosed location” because of the “evidence”.
However, according to Trump’s public agenda, he did not visit Cheyenne Mountain. Other than a trip to Alamo, Texas on January 12 to visit the border wall, the president does not appear to have left DC from the Capitol headquarters.
There is also no evidence that Pelosi made a trip to the border. Snopes reported that the Speaking position was shared on January 6, but Pelosi was in Congress at the end of January 6 and until the wee hours of January 7, completing the certification of electoral votes.
The laptop is not the only device that has been taken during the insurgency. CNN reported that House Representative Jim Clyburn from South Carolina reported the theft of an iPad.
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon tweeted a video showing rioters stealing a laptop, USA Today reported.
There have also been false allegations of theft of papers from the Capitol offices.
Brendan Keefe, an investigative reporter for Atlanta’s WXIA-TV, debunked a letter that netizens said was stolen from Pelosi’s office.
The false letter, which Keefe edited to show he’s been reworked, appeared to show Pelosi giving the Portland mayor advice on how to blame Trump for the civil unrest.
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