Rudy Giuliani pushes debunked conspiracy that DC cop Michael Fanone carried a confederate flag and took part in the MAGA riot and calls fact-check a 'hysterical lie'
Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday appears to support a debunked conspiracy theory that hero DC metro police officer Michael Fanone, who testified in Congress about being pummeled by violent Trump supporters on January 6th, took part in the MAGA riot himself.
A conspiracy theory floating around social media in late July accused Fanone of carrying a confederate flag into the US Capitol and participating in the riot.
Various users across Facebook and Instagram shared side-by-side images of Fanone testifying with rioter Kevin Seefried - who turned himself in to authorities in January - with the caption 'It's the Same b----.... yo Michael, we see you.'
Giuliani appeared to support the baseless conspiracy theory when he called attempts to fact-check it a 'hysterical lie'
He also continued the right-wing defense of rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was killed by law enforcement (pictured in Miami on July 26)
One user claimed it was evidence the riot was staged even though Seefried admitted to being the rioter in question.
But Giuliani took issue with a Politifact check labeling the baseless claim Pants on Fire.
Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was trying to break into the Speaker's Lobby with dozens of others when she was shot
'Another hysterical lie about 1/6. So many and the cover-up of killing an unarmed woman by a still unidentified police officer,' Donald Trump's ex-lawyer tweeted.
The 'unarmed woman' he refers to is Ashli Babbitt, a Capitol rioter who was shot and killed while trying to break into the building through a barricaded door.
The 35-year-old veteran from California was trying to break into a door leading to the Speaker's Lobby. Video shows lawmakers and other officials just yards away from the Trump supporters attempting to get inside.
Giuliani was immediately slammed by fellow Twitter users for the statement.
Radio host Dean Obeidallah wrote, 'After 9/11, Rudy led NYC against the terrorists. After Jan 6, Rudy is leading the defense of the Trump terrorists. Rudy is a traitor.'
Another user simply retweeted a picture of the gallows set up by Trump supporters outside the Capitol.
'This is also fake?' they questioned.
Brennan Murphy, a producer at The Recount, jokingly asked if it was an 'angry morning poop' tweet.
In a later post Murphy accused Giuliani of spreading 'insurrection misinformation' for sharing the debunked claim.
Twitter users lined up to criticize Giuliani, including a radio host who called him a traitor
Another user retweeted a photo of gallows built by Trump supporters outside the Capitol
A producer for The Recount mocked Giuliani's early morning Twitter post
Fanone was tased, beaten and suffered a heart attack when defending the Capitol and the lawmakers within on January 6th.
He told House representatives on the January 6 committee that he feared for his life at times and even thought rioters would take his gun and kill him with it.
The DC cop said it wasn't until he desperately shouted to the crowd that he was a father that someone helped him.
'I was at risk of being stripped of and killed with my own firearm as I heard chants of 'Kill him with his own gun.' I can still hear those words in my head today,' he said.
DC cop Michael Fanone was beaten and tased on January 6th and told lawmakers he feared he would get shot and killed with his own firearm at a July 27 hearing on the riot
Fanone testified alongside three other Capitol and DC officers
He recounted how he and his fellow officers held the line in one of the underground tunnels that lead from the Capitol to the lawmakers' personal office buildings, holding back the mob so they could not break through.
Fanone joined Officers Harry Dunn, Aquilino Gonell, and Daniel Hodges to give harrowing testimony to the panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans - Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger - describing how they feared the rioters would kill them and criticized the treatment of their colleagues.
Shortly before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Giuliani gave a speech at the ex-president's Stop the Steal rally where he encouraged them to a 'trial by combat.'
He later claimed it was 'hyperbole' and is being sued by Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell for inciting the riot.