FACT CHECK: Video Claims To Show Subway Attack Connected To Black Lives Matter Movement

Trevor Schakohl | Legal Reporter

A viral Facebook post shared more than 15,000 times claims to show a subway attack connected to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Verdict: False

The incident in the video occurred in October 2019. There is no evidence the attack was related to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Fact Check:

New York City has seen numerous protests following George Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis police custody, local CBS affiliate WLNY reported. Black Lives Matter activists have been involved in many of them, according to NBC News.

A video that appears to show a Black man showing a woman into the side of a subway car has been shared along with the claim that the attack is connected to the Black Lives Matter movement. The title of the video says, “BlackLivesMatter violence,” while the caption claims it shows “#BlackLivesMatter attacking innocent white woman.” (RELATED: Has The 9/11 Memorial In New York City Recently Been Defaced With Graffiti?)

The footage comes from the Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City in October 2019, and the man was identified as Isaiah Thompson, according to local ABC affiliate WABC-TV. The incident occurred months before the protests following the death of Floyd began, though some social media users have been sharing it recently, appearing to link it to the Black Lives Matter movement.

However, there is no indication Thompson was acting in connection with the Black Lives Matter movement. The Daily Caller didn’t find any media outlets covering the story at the time connecting the incident to the movement.

Thompson was arrested and charged with assault, reckless endangerment, menacing and criminal trespassing in the incident, a spokesperson from the New York Police Department’s Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information told the Caller in an email. Thompson had previously been charged in three past incidents of pulling subway emergency brakes, WABC-TV reported.

The Caller found no credible evidence online that Thompson’s earlier alleged actions were motivated by the Black Lives Matter movement either.

“He has mentioned in the past that he enjoys this and enjoys the thrill,” a commanding officer of the NYPD robbery division that had handled Thompson’s case said following his May 2019 arrest, according to The New York Times. “He likes causing havoc.”

Trevor Schakohl

Legal Reporter
Follow Trevor on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/tschakohl

Trending