A viral post claiming that the Capitol Hill protesters were placed on the FBI's no-fly list is found to be false. The claim was made after a video showed a man being removed from a flight for not wearing a mask.
The video was posted on Twitter with a caption: "People who broke into the Capitol Wednesday are now learning they are on No-Fly lists pending the full investigation. They are not happy about this."
The clip was reportedly recorded at Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. on Friday. The man in the video was visibly enraged with the decision and went on a rant.
"This is what they do to us. They kicked me off the plane. They called me a f**king terrorist, and they f**kin' want to ruin my life!"
The video was first uploaded on TikTok with a caption informing that the man has a "toddler level meltdown" after he was told he was not allowed to board the flight after he refused to wear a mask. Therefore, the man was not placed on the FBI's no-fly list. Fact-checking website Snopes also reported the video, which was reshared on Twitter, was wrongly captioned on the micro-blogging website.
Prior to this, Rep. Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, urged the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI to place the Capitol Hill protesters on the no-fly list.
"This should include all individuals identified as having entered the Capitol building – an intrusion which threatened the safety of Members of Congress and staff and served as an attack on our Nation," Thompson said in a statement. "Alleged perpetrators of a domestic terrorist attack who have been identified by the FBI should be held accountable."
Federal authorities mainly place international terrorists on the no-fly list that is not available to the public.
The Capitol Hill protest led to the arrest of at least 60 people so far with some facing federal charges. The Jan. 6 violence led to the death of five people — including a police officer. The numbers highlighted differences between the Capitol siege arrests and the arrests made during racial justice protests in Washington D.C. last summer. Between May 30 and June 2, 2020, law enforcement officials arrested 427 people, including 24 juveniles.
