KFile: Pete Hegseth spread baseless conspiracy theories that January 6 attack was carried out by leftist groups

By Andrew Kaczynski and Winter Hawk, CNN

(CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, justified the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and spread baseless conspiracy theories claiming the initial break-in was a false flag operation carried out by leftist groups disguised as Trump supporters.

In comments made immediately after the riot and in the days and weeks leading up to it, Hegseth also amplified false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, a narrative that fueled the violence at the Capitol that day.

Hegseth’s remarks are among a number of controversial statements he’s made related to national security issues, including suggesting US troops should be deployed in response to domestic riots, endorsing waterboarding as an interrogation tactic, opposing women serving in combat roles and saying that gay people being allowed to serve openly in the military reflected a “Marxist” agenda.

Four days after the Capitol riot, Hegseth appeared on a podcast hosted by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called “Newt’s World.” Hegseth, who was then a Fox News host and prominent conservative media figure, downplayed the violence, defended the rioters’ motivations, and criticized the media for rejecting baseless claims of a stolen election.

He also seized on debunked reports claiming that the riot was instigated by the leftist group known as Antifa. Hegseth alleged that he had seen evidence firsthand that Antifa members disguised themselves as Trump supporters at the riot.

“There are reports, you know, in the New York Post and elsewhere. And just from, you know, common sense, that Antifa folks took advantage of this to try to get to the front and try to agitate and create openings for themselves,” Hegseth said. “They want chaos, ultimately,” Hegseth said of Antifa members. “I could even spot it. You can see the helmets where there’s a Donald Trump bumper sticker on the back, quickly put on it so they could look like they wanted to stop the steal. But what they really wanted to do was further the narrative.”

Hegseth was citing now debunked articles. He didn’t comment for this story.

His statements echo widely debunked conspiracy theories propagated by some in conservative circles after the Capitol attack. Investigations by the FBI have found no evidence that Antifa played any role in the riot.

Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is a loosely organized far-left movement that opposes right-wing ideology and is known for sometimes engaging in confrontational or violent tactics.

As previously reported by CNN, the conspiracy about Antifa and the Capitol was promoted by a large roster of right-wing people and entities. That included some of Fox News’ most prominent personalities. Other proponents included right-wing television networks Newsmax and One America News Network, Trump’s then personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Republican members of Congress including then-Reps. Mo Brooks and Matt Gaetz.

Hegseth’s selection to lead the Pentagon has been clouded by a number of factors, including his decision in 2020 to pay an undisclosed amount in a settlement to a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2017. Hegseth strongly denies her allegations. Trump has maintained his staunch support for Hegseth, who joined Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the Army-Navy football game last weekend.

Hegseth has also softened some of his past statements in recent days, saying he supports gay people and women serving in the military.

Justified the riot

Earlier on Gingrich’s podcast, Hegseth absolved Trump supporters of responsibility for the violence, portraying the crowd as peaceful and unaware of the initial breaches.

“The mindset of these people was not overtly radical; it wasn’t violent at all,” Hegseth claimed. “In fact, if you break down the timeline, Newt, much of what was happening on Capitol Hill – the first incursions breaking through the barricades – happened while Donald Trump was still speaking.”

Shorty after 1 p.m. on January 6, pro-Trump protesters broke down barriers to enter a restricted area on Capitol grounds. The breaking through of barriers came in the minutes before Trump was wrapping up his speech.

Speaking with Gingrich, Hegseth also seemingly justified the actions of the rioters by suggesting their motivations were rooted in legitimate grievances.

“What did people think was going to happen?” Hegseth said, dismissing widespread condemnation of the deadly riot. “I didn’t like the knee-jerk, pearl-clutching response across the spectrum.”

Hegseth expressed frustration with Republicans who condemned Trump and his supporters, as well as the media for rejecting false claims of election fraud.

“I talked to the people on the mall, I’ve talked to ‘em a lot,” Hegseth said. “Listen, they believe the election was stolen. They wish there were more recourses. They’ve watched what happens, they’ve seen stories be suppressed before – Hunter Biden.

“I mean, the amazing extent to which the media has now taken to taking the official line of secretaries of states or governors and saying, ‘Well, this has been fact-checked and debunked because the government officials are telling us that it’s not true,’” he added. “When’s the last time that’s what the media was supposed to do – reflect and project back upon the populace what government officials are saying because it enhances their narrative? It’s unbelievable,” he added.

Promoted baseless election claims

Hegseth also voiced support for the Trump campaign’s claims of voter fraud in 2020. In December that year, speaking on Kevin McCullough’s radio show on AM970 The Answer to promote his book, “The War on Warriors,” Hegseth claimed that testimony and evidence presented revealed “something massive going on underneath.”

There is no evidence of massive fraud in any states or across the country, as acknowledged by Republican election officials and Trump’s own attorney general at the time, Bill Barr. Trump and his supporters filed more than 60 lawsuits in six key battleground states after the election and lost every case.

Hegseth praised Trump’s legal team for its efforts and called for continued investigations, discovery, and an inquiry from the Department of Justice into the fraud claims.

“You can’t watch, listen to, see the testimony that’s being given, and – if you’re being honest about it and willing to actually engage with it – watch the videos, listen to the testimonies, and feel like there isn’t something massive going on underneath,” Hegseth said.

He also criticized the media.

“The problem is… the group think of the so-called mainstream left-wing media. It’s not just, ‘Here’s our narrative.’ It’s ‘Here’s our narrative, which is there is no massive widespread fraud.’”

None of these comments were by Hegseth while on Fox News, where he was a host at the time. The network played a key role in promoting baseless voter fraud claims after the 2020 election, ultimately settling a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 for $787.5 million over its promotion of election conspiracy theories.

Hegseth continued pushing claims that the election was rigged through mail-in ballots, telling Gingrich on his January 2021 podcast it was a cause for the riot at the Capitol.

“I didn’t anticipate the rigging in the extra constitutional way,” he said. “They would do mail-in balloting and signature check and all of the guardrails that came off came off. And so if the ballot box isn’t there, that’s what you saw.”

“You saw regular, rational, hardworking, tax-paying business owners on the grounds carrying American flags and Trump flags saying, ‘I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know where else to go. I don’t feel like there’s another politician out there that is willing to go all the way to the mat to stare the media to the face and call ‘em the enemy of the state,’” he said.

Later that year, Hegseth repeatedly declined to say if Trump lost the 2020 election during a contentious exchange with a Democratic lawmaker that July on Fox News.

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