What were the most common types of injuries reported by people during the January 6 2021 Capitol riot?

1. Blunt-force trauma and musculoskeletal injuries dominated official tallies

Multiple contemporaneous and retrospective reports describe widespread bruises, lacerations, cracked ribs and other fractures among officers and others who encountered the mob; a police-union statement cited examples including cracked ribs and smashed spinal discs, and mainstream outlets summarized Justice Department reporting that roughly 140 officers were criminally assaulted during the siege . The New York Times, cited in FactCheck’s review, listed bruises, lacerations and more serious damage such as rib fractures among the documented injuries, and union and officer testimonials repeatedly point to blunt trauma from flagpoles, metal pipes, batons and physical crushing at choke points such as the Lower West Terrace tunnel .

2. Head injuries, concussions and traumatic brain injury were repeatedly reported

Officers and at least one high-profile officer—Michael Fanone—reported head trauma and traumatic brain injury; Fanone’s account includes being dragged, stunned, beaten and later experiencing traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and bodycam and visual archives show officers attending to head and facial wounds on-site ^[1]. Sources that reviewed medical outcomes noted concussions as a category of more serious injuries sustained during the attack, and multiple accounts of officers seeking ongoing care indicate head trauma was not rare among those who were assaulted .

3. Chemical exposures, burns, and electroshock injuries were common assault modalities

Riot participants deployed chemical sprays against officers and at least one officer was later found to have been sprayed with a chemical irritant before suffering strokes—while the medical examiner’s account is complex, chemical exposure is a repeatedly documented assault method on the day . Reporting and visual archives show rioters used pepper spray and other chemical agents; officers also reported being tased or stunned with Tasers, and some victims described burns and eye irritation treated at the scene ^[1].

4. Cardiac events and respiratory distress appeared among severe outcomes

Beyond blunt and chemical injuries, several sources report that at least some officers suffered cardiac events or breathing difficulties linked to the day’s violence: Fanone reported a heart attack after his assault, the New York Times summary cited a “mild heart attack” among reported injuries, and officers described struggling to breathe after exposures and blows ^[1]. The official account of Officer Brian Sicknick’s death is complex—medical examiners later described strokes and linked the events of Jan. 6 to his condition—underscoring that severe neurologic and cardiovascular consequences were part of the aftermath for some defenders .

5. Reporting emphasis and limits: why officer injuries dominate the record

Most accessible, detailed reporting focuses on injured law-enforcement personnel because they filed claims, testified, and became plaintiffs and witnesses in investigations and lawsuits; the House, the Justice Department and police unions produced counts and case details that journalists cited, yielding the repeated “about 140 officers injured” figure . Civilian injury data—beyond the four people who died that day and some named rioters who were hurt—are far less systematically collected in the cited sources, and the available reporting does not provide a comprehensive, category-by-category epidemiology for all attendees ^[1]. Political actors have also shaped public memory—some pushing to downplay or reframe the event and others seeking memorialization—so assessments of severity and emphasis in the record reflect competing agendas in addition to the underlying medical facts .