Fact Check

No, Marines Who Participated in Jan. 6 Attack Weren't Freed by Special Forces

The claims were made by a satire website that we've checked before.

Published Mar 14, 2023

 (Chung Sung-Jun/Staff, Getty Images)
Image Via Chung Sung-Jun/Staff, Getty Images
Claim:
On March 8, 2023, U.S. Marines who participated in the Jan. 6 riot were freed from a federal detention center by U.S. Special Forces.

On March 11, 2023, Real Raw News published an article claiming that six Marines who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection were freed by U.S. Special Forces:

Special Forces Free Imprisoned Marines Who Visited the Capitol on Jan 6

United States Special Forces on Wednesday liberated six armed forces members whom the criminal Biden Regime had "detained indefinitely" for visiting the Capitol on January 6. The six were held at a "secret" federal detention center in Long Island, New York, not in D.C. jails with countless other peaceful protesters whose Constitutional rights the regime trampled when it began targeting not only citizens who entered the Capitol but also innocent bystanders, sources in Gen. Eric M. Smith's office told Real Raw News.

This item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows:

The "story" isn't real. Real Raw News is a satire website. The website describes its content as satire on its about page:

"Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel."

There is no evidence for any of the alleged events in the "story." But for the record, on March 9, 2023, one Marine veteran was arrested and accused of attacking five police officers during the Capitol riot. And three active-duty Marines have been charged with participating in the insurrection.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

 

Sources

Durkin Richer, Alanna. "3 Active-Duty Marines Charged in Jan. 6 Capitol Riot." AP News, 20 Jan. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/politics-crime-donald-trump-riots-capitol-siege-8fc62a5cb27f91b0f9c9447052ffa25d.

Ferrise, Adam. "U.S. Marine Veteran from Wellington Attacked Five Police Officers during Jan. 6 Storming of U.S. Capitol, Feds Say." Cleveland.com, 10 Mar. 2023, https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2023/03/us-marine-veteran-from-wellington-attacked-five-police-officers-during-jan-6-storming-of-us-capitol-feds-say.html.

Izz Scott LaMagdeleine is a fact-checker for Snopes.