A newspaper in Tyler, Texas, on Friday described rioters at the U.S. Capitol as anti-fascists from the political left, but hours later it vowed to correct the characterization.
The Tyler Morning Telegraph, which serves the 107,000-population, 50 percent non-white city in East Texas, ran an Associated Press photo of rioters with the caption, "Members of antifa dressed as supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in Washington."
Supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday briefly and violently seized the Capitol. Five deaths, including that of a police officer, occurred during the rioting. Trump initially embraced the rioters, tweeting, "We love you." But he later denounced lawbreakers, stating, "You will pay."
Claims of antifa agitation were aired on Fox Business Network and Fox News, where Lou Dobbs, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spread the theory.
"I think a lot of it is the antifa folks," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said on Fox News on Wednesday night.
So far, alleged participants in the Capital siege identified through photos and video appear to be Trump supporters or far-right activists.
The Texas paper tweeted Friday afternoon that it is aware of the caption "where we incorrectly identified protesters as members of Antifa" and promised to correct the description on all its platforms.
"This was inserted by one person and does not represent the views or opinions of the Tyler Morning Telegraph," it said.
Editor John Anderson said by email that the caption "was not done by editorial" or the AP. He suggested he was trying to get to the bottom of what happened.
