Biden, others connect killing of Capitol officer by Nation of Islam follower to Jan. 6

WASHINGTON (TND) — Multiple politicians, including President Joe Biden, misleadingly grouped a Capitol Police officer killed by a Nation of Islam follower into their condolences for the officers who died in the wake of last year's Jan. 6 attack.

The officer, William "Billy" Evans, was killed three months after the January attack by Noah Green, a Louis Farrakhan devotee who rammed his car into officers. There is no evidence to suggest Evans' killing is related to the events on Jan. 6.

President Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, members of Congress and a governor were among the politicians who made the false comparison.

"One year since Jan. 6, 2021, the lies that drove the anger and madness we saw in this place, they have not abated," Biden said during his Thursday anniversary speech. "So we have to be firm, resolute, and unyielding in our defense of the right to vote and to have that vote counted. Some have already made the ultimate sacrifice in this sacred effort."

"Jill and I have mourned police officers in this Capitol rotunda, not once but twice, in the wake of Jan. 6,” the president continued. “Once to honor Officer Brian Sicknick, who lost his life the day after the attack. The second time to honor Officer Billy Evans, who lost his life defending the Capitol as well."

Noah Green rammed his car into two U.S. Capitol police officers, killing Evans, according to Fox News. Green was a self-admitted follower of radical Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, based on social media posts from Green which were reportedly deleted after he was shot dead by Capitol Police, according to Fox.

Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi named Evans in her commemoration of “fallen heroes” from Jan. 6 during a moment of silence in the House chamber, but also clarified he was the victim “of a later assault” during her statement.

In a tweet, another Democrat in Congress, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, lumped Evans into a group of “those who lost their lives in the days and weeks after January 6th.”

Republican Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker inaccurately called Evans “one of those officers who lost his life that day," in an official statement posted to social media on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack.

Baker subsequently issued a tweet including a “revised statement,” calling Evans “one of the officers who lost his life protecting the Capitol last year.”