Trump is doubling down on Jan. 6 conspiracy theories, in his campaign and his legal defense

Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election led to the violence of Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has never come close to telling the truth about the attack on the U.S. Capitol, either, though his specific false claims about it have varied over time. Now he’s making conspiracy theories about Jan. 6 a central part of his defense against criminal charges and his 2024 campaign.

Trump has shared Truth Social posts embracing conspiracy theories blaming the FBI and “antifa” for the attack and referring to Ray Epps, the man who many Jan. 6 conspiracy theorists have claimed was an undercover operative provoking the mob that day. (Epps pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds in September.) Trump has claimed President Joe Biden “pressed deranged [special counsel] Jack Smith to do this fake indictment on me.”