A newspaper in Tyler, Texas, on Friday described rioters at the American Capitol as anti-fascists of the political left, but hours later it promised to correct the characterization.
The Tyler Morning Telegraph, which serves the 107,000-strong, 50 percent non-white city in eastern Texas, carried an Associated Press photo of rioters with the caption: ‘Members of antifa dressed as supporters of President Donald Trump climbed the western wall of the American Capitol Wednesday in Washington. ‘
Supporters of President Donald Trump briefly and violently seized the Capitol on Wednesday. Five deaths, including that of a police officer, occurred during the riots. Trump initially embraced the rioters and tweeted, “We love you.” But later he denounced lawbreakers and said, “You will pay.”
Fox News commentators, including Lou Dobbs, and a few others on the political right, including U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., Suggested that “antifa” agitators helped fuel the violence.
“I think a lot of them are the antifa people,” said former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. said Wednesday night on Fox News.
So far, it appears that suspected participants in the siege of Capital, identified by photos and video, are Trump supporters or far-right activists.
The Texas newspaper tweeted on Friday afternoon that it was aware of the caption “where our protesters incorrectly identified as members of Antifa” and promised to correct the description on all its platforms.
“It was inserted by one person and does not represent the views or opinions of the Tyler Morning Telegraph,” he said.
Editor John Anderson said in an email that the caption “was not done by editors” or the AP. He suggested he try to get to the bottom of what happened.
