Recently uncovered photos and videos show E.J. Antoni, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, standing among the crowd of Trump supporters in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021—the day of the Capitol riot. This has led to questions about his presence there and concerns about his political leanings.
Trump announced Antoni’s nomination after abruptly firing the previous head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reportedly over several months of disappointing job reports. Antoni is a well-known conservative economist from the Heritage Foundation and a key figure in Project 2025, a controversial right-wing policy plan. His appointment has worried many people who fear the BLS could lose its reputation for impartial and accurate economic data if he is confirmed by the Senate.
What adds to the controversy is that Antoni, who has a large picture of a Nazi battleship hanging in his office, was seen on the Capitol grounds as events unfolded on January 6. Video from Parler, later archived by ProPublica, shows him moving through the west side of the Capitol grounds around 1:50 p.m., before walking to the east side and leaving. At that moment, police barricades had already been removed by the crowd, and officers were struggling to stop protesters from taking over the inauguration stage, but the building itself had not yet been breached.
NBC News contacted Antoni for comment, but he declined to respond. The White House later said Antoni was in Washington that day for meetings at a nearby office and walked toward the Capitol after seeing news coverage. They insisted he did not cross barricades or take part in the demonstrations. A White House spokesperson described him as just an observer who eventually left the area, calling any suggestion that he acted illegally “wrong and defamatory.”
That explanation is notable because it indirectly admits that at least some of the people there did commit illegal acts—something Trump and his allies have often downplayed. Trump shut down the Department of Justice investigation into the attack on his first day back in office and pardoned or commuted the sentences of all 1,500 people charged in connection to the riot. The bipartisan Senate report on January 6 found the violence was linked to seven deaths.
While Antoni may not have engaged in violence or entered the Capitol, his loyalty to Trump was made clear this week when he proposed eliminating monthly jobs reports altogether as a way to avoid negative economic headlines. Economists from both political parties—including former Republican officials—criticized the idea as extremely harmful.
