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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Have 'almost ten' deaths been directly attributed to the Jan. 6 Capitol siege?
Thursday, October 28, 2021
By Austin Tannenbaum
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NO
Only five deaths — one cop and four rioters — are directly attributable to the siege:
- Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died of a stroke after being beaten by rioters.
- Ashli Babbitt, who died after being shot while attempting to breach a broken window.
- Kevin Greeson, who died of a heart attack.
- Rosanne Boyland, who appears to have been crushed to death.
- Benjamin Philips, who died of a stroke.
Four additional police officers present at the siege have since committed suicide. While the reasons remain unclear, the wife of one officer claims her husband became deeply depressed following the siege, where he was punched and hit in the head with a metal pole.
In July, officers testified to Congress that they feared they might die during the siege as they were beaten, threatened, and taunted with racial insults.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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