'Fact checkers' say alleged mistreatment of January 6 inmates are conspiracy theories
Lawyers for some of the prisoners have alleged that they are regularly being denied access to their clients.
The Associated Press on Thursday declared that the mistreatment of Jan. 6 prisoners scooped up in the wake of the riot is a “conspiracy theory.”
The publication declared, through its “fact checkers,” that any alleged mistreatment of Jan. 6 inmates, many of whom have been sequestered to solitary confinement, is a “conspiracy theory” because they get fed regular meals.
As pointed out by journalist Andy Ngo, there have been ongoing reports of abuse of those incarcerated in the Washington, D.C. jail where they are awaiting trial.
“While it’s true some of the suspects have complained about their time in jail, it’s wrong to argue they’re being held as political prisoners,” the AP wrote, adding that the claim that “the Jan. 6 suspects are political prisoners and being mistreated” is false because “authorities have said the suspects in custody are being given the same access to food and medical care as any other inmate.”
.@DavidKlepper, how did this pass the quality check for fact checking at AP?
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) January 5, 2022
Claim: Jailed Jan. 6 riot suspects are mistreated.
Klepper: False. Authorities say they get food. pic.twitter.com/JbUIz9eGpa
The article in question also argues that Jacob Chansley, commonly known as the “QAnon Shaman”, was given organic food after asking for it.
As detailed by Summit News, lawyers for some of the prisoners have alleged that they are regularly being denied access to their clients, who are being subjected to torture in jail.
Politico reported last June that a capitol riot defendant alleged that he was left partially blind following a beating by jail guards.
For weeks, Capitol riot defendants being held in Washington have complained that they are locked in their cells with virtually no human contact for 23 hours a day. But a startling, graphic account offered publicly in court on Tuesday by one such inmate, Ronald Sandlin, went further: alleging that guards have subjected those charged in the Jan. 6 events to violence, threats and verbal harassment.
“Myself and others involved in the Jan. 6 incident are scared for their lives, not from each other but from correctional officers,” Sandlin said during a bail hearing conducted by video before U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich. “I don’t understand how this is remotely acceptable,” he added, saying he was being subjected to “mental torture.”
In an unusual direct plea to the judge, Sandlin said another Capitol riot defendant, Ryan Samsel, “was severely beaten by correctional officers, [is now] blind in one eye, has a skull fracture and detached retina.”
The Washington Examiner reported how one attorney described his client Ryan Samsel’s face looking like a “tomato that was stomped on” following a beating administered by jail guards.
The Politico article reports that the prisoners, who are mostly white, have also alleged that they are being targeted with racialized abuse by jail guards, one of whom allegedly said that he hates “all white people and your honky religion.”
CNN reported last year that one of the inmates, who alleged mistreatment at the jail, was released because he had cancer — owing his release to the unsafe conditions at the penitentiary centre.
Don't Get Censored
Big Tech is censoring us. Sign up so we can always stay in touch.
Don't Get Censored
Big Tech is censoring us. Sign up so we can always stay in touch.