A photo shows a woman who is a “hardened criminal” and “back out on the streets” after being pardoned by President Trump for convictions relating to the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021.
The woman did not attend the US Capitol riot. The photo actually shows her at a peaceful protest in Kansas on the same day, at which there were no arrests.
A photo of a woman holding a US flag is being shared with claims she’s “back out on the streets”, with the suggestion that this is linked to President Donald Trump pardoning more than 1,500 people involved in the 6 January 2021 US Capital riot. But the photo was not taken at the US Capitol riot.
The picture shows an older woman smiling and holding the US flag, with a facemask under her chin, in what appears to be a grand room. Multiple posts sharing the image have the caption: “This hardened criminal is back out on the streets. I hope you trump supporters are happy”. One post adds: “She did hard time. Her crime was walking around in the Capitol building holding a flag on Jan 6.”
This is an apparent reference to President Trump pardoning and commuting the sentences of “individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021” on his first day back in office following his inauguration on 20 January 2025.
However, the photo was not taken at the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021. It is actually from what local media called “a peaceful and planned demonstration” that took place on the same day around 1,000 miles away in Topeka, Kansas, and where no arrests were made.
More than 100 people reportedly gathered at the Kansas Statehouse, which is the state’s capitol building (where the state legislature meet), to support President Trump, and with some repeating unevidenced claims about voter fraud in the 2020 US election. Police said they “didn’t have any issues inside” the building and that the protesters were “cooperative”.
The photo being shared online has been cropped from a larger image showing a mural in the background that matches one in the Kansas Statehouse. The same woman can be seen in other photos published in reports on the Kansas protest.
Moreover, several fact checking organisations have previously debunked claims she was at the US Capitol riot.
You can find more of our work checking claims relating to the US on our website, including a roundup of claims from Mr Trump’s inauguration speeches and social media posts falsely claiming he signed an executive order to remove capital gains tax on US cryptocurrencies.
We often see miscaptioned images on social media and they can spread quickly online. Our guide offers some tips on how you can verify what you see before sharing it.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context because the photo was taken at a protest in Kansas on 6 January 2021 where no arrests were made, not the US Capitol in Washington DC.
Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics.
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.