Some far-right voices have adopted the false claim that the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection was a false flag instigated by federal agents. White supremacist live streamer Nick Fuentes, on the other hand, pushed back on this conspiracy, claiming that it detracted from the narrative that Jan. 6 was a “rebellion” that should be “celebrate[d].”

Fuentes was present at the Capitol that day with other white supremacist associates including Vincent James Foxx and Jaden McNeil — none of whom have been accused of participating in illegal conduct at the rally. Several of Fuentes’ followers, however, have been arrested in connection with the Capitol attack.

“So as far as I’m concerned, January 6 was necessary, because it left an impression,” Fuentes declared on the Jan. 6, 2024 episode of America First. “And that impression was we do not accept this election. It was loud. It was visible. It was unignorable. And it went down in the history book. It was a rebellion. You can’t ignore that.”

Fuentes said that this “straight-up rebellion” helped people focus on the claims that the 2020 election had been stolen — claims that Fuentes himself spread in the months leading up to Election Day.

“So I don’t like the fedsurrection narrative because — I sort of understand it, and the angle is that this is supposed to exonerate the people that have been charged,” he said. “And I sort of understand that this is supposed to exonerate Trump supporters, so they’re not seen as terrorists. But I don’t think that’s necessary.”

He added that “it’s almost like if you say it’s a fedsurrection, you’re almost conceding that if no feds were involved that it was evil.” Fuentes said that even if the pro-Trump mob hadn’t been “tricked” into entering the Capitol — as some right-wing pundits have claimed — their actions were ultimately “justified.”

Fuentes laid out a list of grievances about how President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda had been stymied by Congress and the courts. And he complained that states with Republican legislatures refused to audit their vote totals — although recounts in Georgia and a Republican-led audit in Arizona confirmed Biden’s victory.

He then called the “riot” at the Capitol a “pretty proportionate expression of the frustration of the people,” and said that Trump supporters were “entitled to break a fuckin’ window.”

According to Fuentes, there may have been “some funny business” where federal agents “exacerbated” the events of that day. But he was dismissive of claims that “they were the primary engine behind that.”

“I don’t know if I believe it, and I don’t even know why it’s necessary even to go there,” he said. “I think that whether that was an element or not, we should celebrate January 6 because finally people said that they had enough. That’s part of the ongoing Trump rebellion. And I think we should be proud of it.”