Newsmax host falsely claims ‘only one person died’ at Capitol Jan. 6

The night before the Senate began the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Newsmax TV host Greg Kelly falsely claimed that only one person died Jan. 6 during the U.S. Capitol riot at the center of the push to convict Trump.

"They’ve been lying about so much, including, by the way, that five people died on Jan. 6, 2021," Kelly said Feb. 8. "It's not true. Only one person died on that day. You know who it was? The unarmed woman, Ashli Babbitt. Unarmed woman shot and killed by Capitol Police."

Kelly was wrong about the Capitol siege’s human toll. A spokesperson for Newsmax declined to comment.

In addition to Babbitt, three others died Jan. 6 from medical emergencies suffered during the riot, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed. A fifth person, Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, died the next day after responding to the riot.

Two other officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 — D.C. police officer Jeffery Smith and Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood — died by suicide in the weeks that followed, acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said Jan. 26 in testimony before Congress.

The head of the Capitol Police officers’ union said about 140 officers were injured.

Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran and supporter of the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as she climbed through a smashed door leading to the hallway outside the House chambers. Her death was captured on video.

Featured Fact-check

Donald Trump

stated on October 29, 2024 in a rally in Allentown, Pa.

In Lancaster, Pa., “We caught them with 2,600 votes. We caught them cold, 2,600 votes. ... And every vote was written by the same person."

According to the New York Times and other news outlets, the three other Trump supporters who died during the events included 55-year-old Kevin Greeson of Alabama, who suffered a heart attack; 50-year-old Benjamin Philips of Pennsylvania, who suffered a stroke; and 34-year-old Rosanne Boyland of Georgia, who died as fellow rioters fought through a police line. 

A friend who was with Boyland told WGCL-TV she was pinned to the ground and trampled by fellow rioters, which lines up with the New York Times’ reporting based on videos from the event that she "died after losing consciousness in the crush of a pro-Trump mob." An incident report published by Snopes said officers dispatched to the Capitol found her collapsed and receiving CPR.

Contee reported all four deaths in a press conference Jan. 6. News reports from the day, including a fact-check from PolitiFact, also said four people had died in the violence.

Capitol Police announced Sicknick’s death in a press release Jan. 7, writing that the officer died at roughly 9:30 p.m. that day "due to injuries sustained while on-duty." Sicknick was injured while "physically engaging with protesters" on Jan. 6, and he collapsed after he returned to his division office, the press release said.

Investigations into Sicknick’s death are ongoing.

Kelly said, "It's not true (that five people died on Jan. 6). Only one person died on that day. You know who it was? The unarmed woman, Ashli Babbitt."

That’s inaccurate. Four people died at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer, died the following day after he was injured in the violence.

We rate Kelly’s statement False.

If you or people you know are thinking about suicide, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.