Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issued a statement blaming former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 rioters for the death of a Capitol police officer who died at the hands of a black nationalist in April.
“One year ago, citizens across this nation turned away the forces threatening the democratic process and saw through a fair, transparent election for the most powerful office in the world – proving again the system is greater than a single faction,” Baker wrote in a statement.
Capitol Police Officer William Evans died in April after 25-year-old Noah Green, a devout follower of the Nation of Islam and the radical Louis Farrakhan, rammed into a Capitol barricade and attacked officers with a knife.
But in Baker’s statement claiming that the actions of “Trump and his allies” on Jan. 6, 2021 would “stain this nation’s history forever,” the Republican governor attributed Evans’s death to the Capitol riot.
“One of those officers who lost his life that day was William Evans, a North Adams native who tragically leaves a beautiful family. His actions and his colleagues’ actions that day will stand as shining examples of heroism and bravery,” Baker wrote.
Twitter users quickly jumped on the statement to point out that Evans died in a separate attack months after the Capitol riot. As a matter of fact, he was not even on duty or near the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“Evans was at home with his kids,” The Berkshire Eagle reported. “He had planned the holiday well in advance, knowing that they had the day off school.”
Baker quickly issued a slightly revised statement after it became apparent that Evans was not in fact killed on Jan. 6 by Capitol rioters, but he did still tried to conflate the incidents.
“One of the officers who lost his life protecting the Capitol last year was William Evans, a North Adams native who tragically leaves behind a beautiful family,” the barely modified sentence reads.
In the media frenzy following Jan. 6, 2021, many on the left also parrotted the talking point that the riot had killed five people, even though three of those were participants who suffered coincidental medical emergencies, one was shot and killed by Capitol Police, and one police officer, Brian Sicknick, died the next day of natural causes. That didn’t stop outlets like The New York Times, however, from turning Sicknick’s tragic death into a political football, claiming he died “after he was overpowered and beaten by rioters from the mob at the Capitol.”