(AP)-Fake behavior about elections brought the rebels into the Capitol on January 6. Now some people face criminal charges for their actions during the riots, hoping that their credibility can save them or at least arouse some sympathy.

Lawyers for at least three defendants involved in the violent siege told the Associated Press that they would accuse election misinformation and collusion theories (most of which were promoted by then-President Donald Trump) for misleading clients. The lawyer said that those who spread misinformation should bear the same responsibility for the violence as those who participated in the actual violation of the Capitol.

The defendant Antonio Antonio said when talking about Trump: “I sound like an idiot now, but my belief is against him.” Antonio said that the boredom during the pandemic led him to contact conservative cable news and right-wing social media. Before the media, he was not interested in politics. “I think they did a good job of persuading people.”

After Joe Biden won last year’s presidential election, trump card And his allies repeatedly claim Race stolen, even if claimed Repeatedly debunked Officials from both sides, outside experts and courts in several states, as well as Trump’s own attorney general. in many circumstances, Unfounded claim Election officials on rejection of votes, vote fraud and corruption zoomed in On social media, Trump’s campaign has been stepped up to undermine people’s confidence in the elections that have begun before November.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in a verdict on Wednesday that the wave of misinformation continues to spread. The verdict denied the release of a person accused of threatening to kill South Carolina, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Yves (D-Calif) man.

In the verdict that Berman demanded that Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr. continue to be detained, he wrote: “The continuous drumbeat that encouraged the defendant to take up the weapon did not disappear.” “Six. Months later, the general election was repeated every day in the main news media and the corridors of power of the state and federal governments. News of the election was stolen, not to mention the daily elections of the former president.”

In the unsuccessful attempt to destroy Biden’s victory certificate, only a small part of the 400 defendants were defendants. But their argument emphasizes the important role of false speech in igniting riots, especially when many high-ranking Republicans try to minimize the violence on January 6th, and millions of others still mistakenly Think the election was stolen.

At least one of these allegations plans to make false information a key part of his defense.

Albert Watkins, a St. Louis lawyer representing the so-called QAnon wizard Jacob Chansley, likened the process to brainwashing or falling into a cult. Watkins said that repeated exposure to false and inflammatory statements ultimately overwhelmed his clients’ ability to discern reality.

Watkins said: “He’s not crazy.” “People who fell in love with (cult leader) Jim Jones to Guyana, they have husbands, wives and lives. Then they drank kul aid. .”

Similar legal arguments failed to exonerate Lee Boyd Marvo. Lee Boyd Malvo (Lee Boyd Malvo) and John Allen Mohammed (John Allen Mohammed) sniper gift in 2002, in 2002 killed 10 people in Washington, DC. His lawyer tried to argue that Malvo was not responsible for his actions because he was fascinated by the older Mohammed.

The lawyer of the newspaper heir Patty Hirst also argued that after being kidnapped by the radical Communist Liberation Army, their client was brainwashed to participate in the bank robbery, but it failed.

Christopher Slobogin, director of the criminal justice program at Vanderbilt Law School, professor of psychiatry, and psychiatric expert, said: “This is not a victory I have seen.”

Slobogin said that unless belief in conspiracy theories is used as evidence for a larger, diagnosable mental illness (such as paranoia), it is impossible to overcome the legal presumption of ability.

He said: “I don’t blame the defense lawyer for making this point.” He said: “You did your best to present all the arguments that can be made.” “But just because you have a fixed false belief about the stolen election does not mean that You can sweep the Parliament building.”

Ziv Cohen, a professor of psychiatry at the Weill Cornell School of Medicine at Cornell University, said that from a mental health perspective, conspiracy theories can affect a person’s behavior. Cohen, an expert on conspiracy theory and activism, often conducts psychological tests for defendants.

Cohen said: “Conspiracy theories can lead people to commit illegal acts.” “That is one of the dangers. Conspiracy theories erode social capital. They weaken trust in authority and institutions.”

A 19-year-old Bruno Joseph Cua lawyer has been accused of pushing a police officer out of the U.S. Senate court and blaming social media for his client’s extreme remarks before and after the riots. Attorney General Jonathan Jeffress said that Cua “is imitating what he heard and saw on social media. Mr. Cua did not propose these ideas alone. He was fed them.”

The day after the riots, Para Culer wrote in an article published by Parler: “The free tree usually has to be watered from the blood of a tyrant. That tree is thirsty.”

Cua’s lawyers now describe this comment as an impressive young man’s lu bang, and said Cua regrets his behavior.

Antonio, 27, closed his job during the pandemic and worked as a solar panel salesman in the suburbs of Chicago. He and his roommate started watching Fox News almost all day, and Antonio started posting and sharing right-wing content on TikTok.

Although Antonio had never been interested in politics before, or even voted in the presidential election, Antonio said that he was beginning to be overwhelmed by election manipulation conspiracy theories.

The court records stated that Antonio was combative and militant. According to the FBI report, he threw a water bottle to the police in the Capitol. He was dragged down the steps of the building, damaged office furniture, and was captured by the police’s camera and shouted “Are you going to war? We’re going to war.” 1776 Year again”.

Antonio, wearing a patch for The Three Percenters, a far-right anti-government militia group, was charged with five counts, including violent entry and improper conduct on the grounds of Congress, and obstruction of law enforcement during civil unrest.

Antonio’s lawyer Joseph Hurley said he would not use his client’s beliefs to make false claims about election fraud to try to forgive him. Instead, Hurley will use them to argue that Antonio is an impressive person, exploited by Trump and his allies.

Hurley said: “You can spread this disease.” He said that misinformation is not a defense. It’s not. However, some people will say: This is why he is here. The reason he was there was because he was dumb and believed what he heard on Fox News. “