FACT CHECK: Viral Post Makes Misleading Claims About Police Injuries For Jan. 6 Attack, George Floyd Protesters

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A post shared on Facebook claims 85 Capitol Police officers and 65 DC Metro police officers were injured during the night of May 29, 2020.

Verdict: Misleading

While St. John’s Church was set on fire and former President Donald Trump did go into a bunker, the number of police officers injured is from the Jan. 6 attack, not May 29, 2020.

Fact Check:

A large group of Trump supporters intruded into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election, according to The Washington Post. Several police officers received the Congressional Gold Medal for their actions on Jan. 6, the outlet reported.

The post attempts to juxtapose the Jan. 6 attack with the George Floyd protesters. The claim also appeared on Twitter, being shared more than 1,400 times.

“The Jan 6 cops are getting congressional gold metal. The left on 5/29/2020 in DC: > 150 officers injured: 86 Capitol Police and 65 members of the DC Metropolitan Police Department. They set fire to St John’s church and a Whitehouse guard post. Trump had to be sent to a bunker,” the post reads.

This comparison, however, is misleading. The Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) suffered a combined 150 injuries during the Jan. 6 attack, according to CBS News. The Capitol Police suffered 86 injuries while MPD suffered 65 injuries, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Did Senator John Kennedy Present A Letter During The January 6 Hearing That Implicated Adam Schiff?)

Alaina Gertz, a spokesperson for the MPD, told Check Your Fact via email, “I think this tweet is referencing the injuries that occurred at the Capitol on January 6th because we have confirmed on the record that 65 MPD members sustained injuries documented in injury reports in connection the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

“Zero officers were injured during the protests on May 29, 2020. Regarding the Floyd protests, we recorded 24 officer injuries from protests on May 31 & June 1 of 2020,” Gertz continued.

17 protesters were arrested and 11 MPD police officers were injured on the night of May 30, according to The Associated Press. Protesters vandalized businesses and threw objects at police officers, the outlet reported.

It is true there were reports that a White House guard post was set on fire on the night of May 31, according to The Hill. It is also true that a building at St. John’s Church was set on fire, NBC Washington reported. Trump was also in a bunker beneath the White House for nearly an hour May 30, The Associated Press reported.

Check Your Fact reached out to the Capitol Police for comment and will update this article if a response is provided.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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