WALSH: Media Says Capitol Riot Killed Five People. The Truth Is More Complicated.

We have been reminded repeatedly that the riot in DC on January 6th was “deadly” and “fatal” and “lethal,” as it has been variously described. The point is being hammered with extra enthusiasm during the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump this week. It is a point the media has cemented in the public consciousness over the course of the last month. Five deaths. That is the number we’ve been given by The New York Times and other legacy outlets. In fact, all in all, a total of seven deaths — four civilians and three police officers — have been tied to the riot.

The odd thing, though, is that most of these deaths are discussed only in the most general and vague terms. We are told that people died, and we are given the approximate alleged context of their deaths, but very little is said about how it happened. But the “how” seems rather important. It is certainly important to the families, who have a right to know exactly how and why their loved ones perished. It is important to the American public, which ought to be given the full truth of an event that has already been used to justify the indefinite militarization of our capital and the impeachment of the former president. And it is important, most of all, because the truth simply matters — particularly about what results in the tragic loss of life. If we are going to be told so often and in such emphatic terms that the riot claimed the lives of five people — or even seven people — then we should also be told how, exactly, that occurred. If the people making the claim don’t themselves know how it occurred, then they should not be making the claim at all. If they do know, and they aren’t telling us, then a whole new realm of problems opens up.