House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the people involved in the January 6 insurrection were “just there and happened to be walking through the building.” A White House reporter who was present that day had a direct reaction.
Brian J. Karem, a well-known journalist who once worked as a White House correspondent for Playboy, wrote, “LIE.”
He was there and saw what happened. The people were not just walking around; they were destroying property, throwing feces on the walls, stealing things, rioting, and even threatening to kill the Vice President. But other than that, he added.
Johnson’s comments were shared by The Intellectualist, which pointed out that the claim had already been checked and found to be false.
This wasn’t the first time Johnson has downplayed what happened on January 6.
He has often spoken about the event in a way that reduces the violence, something that aligns with Trump’s effort to frame the attack as a peaceful protest. Trump also pardoned many of those involved.
Karem was one of the journalists covering the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when a group of Trump supporters broke into the building trying to stop the official confirmation of the 2020 election.
Over 1,200 people have been charged in connection with the attack. Before Trump’s pardons, many had already been convicted.
LIE. I was there. They were walking through the building, destroying property, spreading feces on the walls, stealing things, rioting and threatening to kill the Vice President. But other than that . . . https://t.co/HOTciPUGBO
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) June 5, 2026
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