Facts Matter: Yes, arrests were made during Jan. 6 attack - and many more followed

A recent post claims there were no arrests inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, and, thus, no crimes were committed.

"Why was nobody arrested inside of the Capitol on January 6th if a crime was being committed?" asks a Facebook user in a July 13 post that was shared more than 2,400 times within a few days.

But that claim is wrong, according to USA Today. There were people arrested inside and outside the Capitol on that day.

Six people were arrested inside the building on Jan. 6, and charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct, violent entry, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building. Including those outside the building, Capitol police arrested 14 people that day.

Since then, federal authorities have arrested more than 800 people in connection with the attack, including at least 280 defendants charged with "corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so."

More arrests were not made on Jan. 6 due to police at the scene being outnumbered and violently attacked, USA Today said.

"They began to beat me with their fists and what felt like hard metal objects. I was electrocuted again and again and again with a Taser," Capitol police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell told the House panel investigating the attack.

Mental health line doesn't give location

The nation's first three-digit phone number to battle mental health issues kicked off earlier this month. When dialing 988, callers will be connected with trained mental health counselors.

But some social media users claim the feature is a chance for officials to keep tabs on callers and that it routes your "geolocation information to local authorities."

That's false, according to The Associated Press. The initiative doesn't have the technology to track calls.

"The Lifeline does not currently have the capability to directly geolocate callers, chat or text users in the same way that 911 providers do," the website for the number states.

Instead, authorities attempt to route the calls to the nearest mental health center by using the caller's area code for reference. But that's not reliable since people often don't live in an area that matches the area code on their cellphone.

Officials are exploring a way to incorporate geolocation capabilities into the calls.

Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told the AP most calls can be resolved on the phone.

But authorities need to get to a caller if there is an imminent risk to the person or others.

"There's a lot more work that needs to happen to ensure that people's private information and privacy is respected as part of that before we implement more specific location options," Wesolowski said.

Biden was awake through speech

Various clips of President Joe Biden, during a recent summit with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, have been circulating on social media. The posts include video of Biden with his head bowed and claims that he's sleeping.

But Biden is awake. He seems to be listening, not sleeping, according to PolitiFact.

The short clips are taken out of context. In the full video, Biden, mostly with his head bowed, can be seen shifting positions, moving and lifting his eyes.

One post claiming Biden is asleep includes video of his speech.

"Unless he was doing something akin to sleepwalking with his eyes open, he was awake," PolitiFact reported.

Watching TV emits less CO2 than driving

A social media post, focused on climate change, compares driving and watching TV.

"Your Netflix binge-watching is making climate change worse, say experts. The emissions generated by watching 30 minutes of Netflix is the same as driving almost 4 miles," reads a tweet, shared as a screenshot on Facebook.

But that claim doesn't add up, according to PolitiFact.

Although it's difficult to compare driving with watching TV, due to variations in cars, conditions and streaming services, the International Energy Agency published a fact check done by digital/energy analyst George Kamiya.

Using 2019 averages, Kamiya determined streaming a half-hour show on Netflix emits nearly 18 grams of carbon dioxide emissions, due to data transfer and the production of devices. A car releases 404 grams of CO2 each mile, or 1616 grams over four miles.

So it would take 45 hours of binge watching to equal the emissions release of a four-mile drive.

The tweet actually was first posted in 2020 to promote an article that included the same claim. The tweet has since been taken down and a correction has been added to the article.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.