In the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump and other right-wing extremists, a photo showing one of the rioters carrying a confederate flag inside the half of Congress started circulating on social media.
Right-wing social media users pushed the image around along with claims that the man in the picture, Kevin Seefried, a Delaware resident charged over his involvement in the storming of the federal building, was a registered Democrat and supporter of President Joe Biden.
Kevin Seefried a 'Domestic Terrorist'
"This 'domestic terrorist,' who brought a Confederate flag into the Capitol during this outrageous attack has been arrested in his home state of Delaware. His name is Kevin Seefried. He's a registered Democrat and Biden supporter. Is Pelosi going to impeach president Biden now?" read the caption on one such Facebook post.
Citing it as evidence to support the claim, users shared a VoterRecords.com listing showing a man named Kevin D Seefried registered as a Democrat.
Fact-Check
As pointed out by fact-checking website Snopes, the only credible evidence of Seefried available indicates he is a Trump supporter. According to a charging document, the FBI said Seefried travelled from Delaware to Washington, D.C., that day to hear Trump speak at the rally before the Insurrection.
As far as the voter registration listing, which "proves" the rioter is a registered Democrat, is concerned, not only does it come from an unofficial source, it also lists Seefried's year of birth as 1986, and decades younger than Seefried, who is 51 years old, according to court records which list Seefried's month and year of birth as March 1969.
The available evidence strongly suggests that the voter records most likely belonged to a different Kevin Seefried from Delaware, one who favors Biden while the man in the viral photo acted in support of Trump and took part in an effort to overturn Biden's legitimate victory.
