Fact Check: Does an FBI Report on the Capitol Riot Contain a Photo of a Naked Man?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is still seeking information from the public to identify rioters who stormed Capitol Hill on January 6.
An FBI criminal complaint on one of the rioters has gone viral on Twitter because of claims of nudity in the report.
The Claim
Seamus Hughes, the deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, tweeted Thursday evening: "I've studied extremism for 15 years, I've reviewed mostly every court record for decades. I can honestly say very little surprises me. That said, I have absolutely no idea what to say about the Internet image the FBI used in a criminal complaint of the picture hanging on the wall." His tweet has received more than 30,000 likes and more than 6,000 retweets.
A framed image of a naked man can be seen hanging on the wall behind rioters in the FBI report Hughes shared on Twitter.
I’ve studied extremism for 15 years, I’ve reviewed mostly every court record for decades. I can honestly say very little surprises me. That said, I have absolutely no idea what to say about the Internet image the FBI used in a criminal complaint of the picture hanging on the wall pic.twitter.com/nznszFmif7
— Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) February 4, 2021
The Facts
On Wednesday, a criminal complaint, titled Brian McCreary Statement of Facts, was written by FBI Special Agent Emily Eckert, regarding McCreary's alleged involvement in the Capitol Hill riot.
The document contains photographic evidence McCreary, who lives in Massachusetts, wearing a blue surgical mask, inside the Capitol building on January 6 next to Jacob Anthony Chansley, aka Jake Angeli and QAnon Shaman, the shirtless, face-painted, horn-wearing alleged rioter.
In one of the two photos identifying McCreary, a naked man can be seen in a framed photograph hanging on a Capitol building wall behind him and Chansley.
Eckert wrote in her report that the photo containing the naked man was provided by one of McCreary's Domino's Pizza co-workers after interviewing four of them.
"Finally, one of the co-workers who positively identified MCCREARY in the picture above also provided the following additional photograph [the one with the naked man], which this person received from another of MCCREARY's co-workers, and identified McCreary as the individual wearing black eyeglasses and a blue surgical mask standing immediately behind and to the right of Chansley," Eckert's report stated.
A few Twitter users responded to Hughes' tweet, asserting that the FBI would not have altered the image.
"It was provided by one of the witnesses... so no... the FBI did not alter it, nor would they."
The criminal complaint was published by The Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
McCreary was arrested by the FBI on Thursday evening, according to Boston.com.
It was provided by one of the witnesses... so no... the FBI did not alter it, nor would they. Your disingenuous insinuation that they would alter evidence or lie about “any and/or everything” belies your true nature.
— Peter Hope(s to stay)well (@bearded_ruffian) February 5, 2021
The Ruling
True.
A framed image of a naked man hanging on a wall in the Capitol is in an FBI criminal complaint against alleged rioter Brian McCreary. The photo was provided by one of McCreary's co-workers.
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