FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Batman Arriving At The Capitol Riot?
A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows a Batman impersonator arriving at the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot.
Verdict: False
The video shows a man dressed as Batman at a Philadelphia protest that took place last year after George Floyd’s death.
Fact Check:
Genuine photos and videos taken as rioters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol have circulated widely on the internet since Jan. 6. Facebook and Twitter users are now sharing a short clip of a Batman impersonator at a protest along with the claim that it was taken at the Capitol riot last week. (RELATED: Did ‘The Simpsons’ Predict The Horned Rioter Would Storm The Capitol)
Through a reverse image search of key frames, the Daily Caller News Foundation discovered that the video has been circulating since late May 2020. The verified Instagram account Bucks County Batman posted the video on May 30 last year with the location tagged as the Philadelphia City Hall and the hashtags referencing Floyd and Black Lives Matter.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a man dressed as Batman was present outside Philadelphia City Hall on May 30, 2020, at a protest sparked by Floyd’s death. The outlet identified the man in the video as Bob Gable, a Pennsylvania man who owns a Batsuit and is also known as the Bucks County Batman.
Gable said he went to the Philadelphia protest to “help in any way that I could,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. In the video being shared, a man can be seen holding a “Justice for George Floyd” sign. The facade of the building in the background also matches that of Philadelphia’s city hall on Google Maps.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 last year after an officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, according to video of the incident. His death sparked protests against police brutality and racial injustice across the U.S. and abroad.
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