Joy Reid Falls for Rumor that Capitol Police Removed Barricades to Let Protesters Enter

MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid fell victim Thursday to a rumor that police willfully removed a barricade to let an unruly crowd enter the nation’s Capitol on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump “unleashed [a] horde of MAGA fanatics on the U.S. Capitol,” Reid noted on her evening program, The ReidOut. “They faced little resistance from the Capitol police. There’s even video that appears to show officers moving the barricades to allow the rioters onto the premises.”

The footage, captured by Marcus DiPaola, does show Capitol police moving some of the light barricades that surround the Capitol. However, Diapola said in a comment to Politifact, “They definitely didn’t just open the barriers. The pro-Trump rioters made a fist like they were going to punch the cops, which is why I started recording. Then (police) backed off the barricades.

“They were completely outnumbered,” he added. “There wouldn’t have been any point in fighting.”

Four demonstrators died during Wednesday’s mayhem, including Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by Capitol police as she attempted to enter the House Speaker’s Lobby. Fifty police officers were injured. One, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, died on Thursday evening as a result of injuries he sustained during the ordeal.

As of early Friday, nearly 100 people had been arrested for participating in Wednesday’s unrest, including four charged with unlawfully carrying firearms.

Watch above via MSNBC.