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Defense for some Capitol rioters: election misinformation

Jacob Chansley
Posted at 11:07 PM, May 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-30 01:09:46-04

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Falsehoods about the election helped bring insurrectionists to the Capitol on Jan. 6, and now some who are facing criminal charges for their actions during the riot hope their gullibility might save them in court or at least produce some sympathy.

READ: Utah man charged in Capitol riot says he’d ‘willingly do it again’

Lawyers for at least three defendants charged in connection with the violent siege tell The Associated Press that they'll blame election misinformation and conspiracy theories, including those pushed by then-President Donald Trump, for misleading their clients.

The attorneys say those who spread that misinformation bear as much responsibility for the violence as do those who participated in the actual breach of the Capitol.