Does a viral screenshot of a headline claiming Michael Byrd "pocketed" $190 million in HHS funds for an "unaccredited" daycare in Maryland show the current state of the article? No, that's not true: The Gateway Pundit website made several changes to the headline and the article over time, now pointing out $190 million is the total of all Federal child care funds going to Maryland. The word "unaccredited" also does not appear in the story anymore at the time of writing although it does still wrongly claim Lieutenant Michael Byrd, the United States Capitol Police officer cleared in the shooting of Ashli Babbit, was pardoned by Joe Biden.
A version of an image with the old headline was still visible in a viral X post (archived here) published on January 6, 2026 with a text that read:
And the truth shall drive you mad.
The image in thas post showed a headline that read "Developing: Lt. Michael Byrd Who Shot Ashli Babbitt Dead on Jan. 6, 2021 in Cold Blood, Runs an 'Unaccredited' Day-Care Center in Maryland at His Home and Has Pocketed $190 Million in HHS Funds":
(Image source: X post by @Rothmus)
That headline was also present in an X post by The Gateway Pundit (archived here) which linked to a story on The Gateway Pundit's website (archived here and here) that originally showed that headline.
An later edit of the article changed the headline to "REPORT: Lt. Michael Byrd, Officer Who Shot Ashli Babbitt Dead on Jan. 6 in Cold Blood, Allegedly Operates Unaccredited Home Daycare in Maryland Tied to $190M in HHS Funds", weakening the claim to a "report" about something that "allegedly" happened and was merely "tied to" funds.
The headline on the version of the article at the time of writing of this fact check reads: "Questions Grow as Lt. Michael Byrd, Who Shot Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, Operates a Taxpayer-Funded Home Daycare as $190 Million in Federal Child Care Funds Flow to Maryland". There no longer is a reference to the daycare being "unaccredited" in the story or headline and the "cold blood" accusation only appears in the body of the text now.
An "Editor's note" at the end of the article now reads:
Editor's Note: The $190 million referenced reflects the total amount of federal HHS child care funds received by the state of Maryland, not funds received by a single daycare provider. Additionally, child care accreditation is optional in Maryland and is not required for state licensing. The update does not alter broader questions surrounding oversight and transparency.
The story still does have this paragraph making factually incorrect claims:
In one of his autopen's last acts before Joe Biden left office was to pardon Capt. Mike Byrd, the DC officer who shot and killed January 6 protester Ashli Babbitt in cold blood during the protests on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021.
A fact check from Reuters (archived here) pointed out in February 2025 that Biden did not pardon Byrd and that he was not covered by any pardons for a committee tasked with investigating the events in the Capitol either because Byrd didn't testify before that committee:
In January 2025, as Biden's time in office came to an end, the former president issued pre-emptive pardons to those earmarked by incoming President Donald Trump for retaliation. People reacting to the news online said Michael Byrd was on Biden's clemency list.
But Byrd's name does not appear in any of Biden's pardons, which are found on the U.S. Department of Justice's website.
One warrant issued on Biden's last day in office granted clemency to members of the select committee formed in 2021 to investigate the Capitol siege, as well staff of the committee and police officers who testified.
Michael Byrd was not interviewed by the committee and was therefore not covered by this pardon, a spokesperson for Representative Bennie Thompson, the former chair of the January 6 committee, told Reuters.
The Law Dictionary defines "cold blood" (archived here) as "state of mind characterized by pre-meditated intent to commit a murder". However the Department of Justice (archived here) found there was "insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution" of Byrd in the Ashli Babbitt shooting.
