FACT CHECK: Viral X Video Shows 2019 Protest In Portland, Not Volunteer Militia Headed To Texas

Christine Sellers | Fact Check Reporter

A viral video shared on X, formerly Twitter, purports to show a volunteer militia heading to Texas to support the National Guard amid an ongoing dispute over immigration between Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the federal government.

Verdict: False

The original video, shared on YouTube, shows a 2019 protest in Portland, Oregon, where right-wing activists rallied against Antifa.

Fact Check:

Abbott said President Joe Biden’s potential seizing of the National Guard would be a “political blunder” amid their ongoing immigration dispute, according to the Houston Chronicle. Twenty-five Republican governors have sided with Abbott in the immigration dispute, the New York Post reported.

“Volunteer militias from at least 25 states have begun traveling to Texas in support of its National Guard,” the X post’s caption reads in part. In the video, viewed over three million times, a large group of people carrying American flags can be seen walking across a long bridge. “Heading to Texas to stop the Biden Border Invasion,” text overlay on the video reads.

The video does not show a volunteer militia group headed to Texas, however. The original video, shared on YouTube, shows a 2019 protest in Portland, Oregon, where right-wing activists rallied against Antifa.

“Right wing activists gathered Saturday in Portland for a brief rally, marching by bridge into the downtown area and quickly leaving. The rally was entitled ‘End Domestic Terrorism’ and meant to claim that anti-fascist activists, or ‘antifa’ are domestic terrorists, a position President Trump says he’s considering,” the video’s description reads.

In addition, images shared via a Jan. 26 X post indicate the video was likely filmed at Portland’s Morrison Bridge. (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Border Patrol Van Smuggling Immigrants Into The U.S.?)

Likewise, the viral X video does not appear in any recent credible news reports about the ongoing immigration dispute between Abbott and the federal government. In fact, the opposite is true. Politifact also debunked the video, labeling it as false. Furthermore, neither the White House nor Abbott have publicly commented on the video.

Check Your Fact has contacted Abbott’s office for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter

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