White House Launches Website Rewriting January 6 History, Calling Rioters 'Peaceful Patriotic Protesters'

On the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, the Trump White House launched an official government website that fundamentally rewrites the events of that day. The site portrays the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol as 'peaceful patriotic protesters' and accuses law enforcement of provoking the violence. The website blames Democrats for staging 'the real insurrection' by certifying Biden's 2020 election victory, disputes officer deaths, and criticizes Capitol Police leadership and Vice President Mike Pence. Multiple news outlets including CNA and Yahoo News characterized this as an attempt to 'whitewash' history and promote 'baseless' and 'completely false' claims about the violent attack that resulted in deaths, injuries, and over 1,000 criminal convictions.

"peaceful patriotic protesters" — White House website description of the January 6 Capitol rioters