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FACT CHECK: Image Shows Rioter With Vape, Not Federal Badge

image Share with X It claims the photo shows a January 6 rioter wearing a federal badge.

Verdict: False

The image appears to show a rioter smoking an e-cigarette rather than a federal badge.

Fact check:

Social media users shared photos of a man posing as a rioter and flashing a federal badge, with one captioned, “This is why they didn't want us to show the tape. Federal agents disguised as Trump supporters.”

This claim is false. The image shows rioter Chris Lyons, who was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the January 6 attack. AFP Fact CheckAccording to the media report, he was not a federal agent but an HVAC technician.

NBC News reporter Ryan Reilly, in an interview on Nov. 19, identified the object in his hand as an e-cigarette, not a badge. Tweet. (Related: Did the Daily Mail report that Prince William called Camilla a “C*** Consort”?)

Sedition Hunters, a group describing itself as “hunting and distributing clear mugshots of those who stormed the Capitol,” said the photo showed him smoking an e-cigarette.

This image is video The House Administration Committee announced: documents show He was reportedly wearing the same clothes at the time of the attack.

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