FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show Protesters Who ‘Stormed The US Capitol’ During Kavanaugh’s 2018 Confirmation?

Brad Sylvester | Fact Check Editor

An image shared on Facebook allegedly shows Democratic protesters that “stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2018” during Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Verdict: False

While there were protests during Kavanaugh’s confirmation, the photo does not show a scene from one of those demonstrations. It depicts a 2011 protest at the Wisconsin Capitol building in Madison.

Fact Check:

The Facebook post attempts to use the photo to draw a comparison between the protests during the 2018 confirmation hearings and the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The image shows an aerial shot of a rotunda packed with people.

“Remember when democrat protesters stormed the US Capitol in 2018, took over the US Senate Building, and tried to get into the US Supreme Court during the Kavanaugh confirmations?” text above the picture reads. “Democrat legislators and the MSM cheered it on. If it wasn’t for double standards liberals would have no standards at all.”

While there were demonstrations on Capitol Hill during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, the photo doesn’t show that. Check Your Fact found the picture posted on the Center for Media and Democracy’s PRWatch website, where the caption indicates it was actually taken at Wisconsin’s Capitol during 2011 protests. (RELATED: Was Kavanaugh Accuser Deborah Ramirez A Soros Fellow?)

In February 2011, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Capitol rotunda in Madison to protest against a bill aimed at limiting the collective bargaining rights of many state workers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. A photo similar to the one being shared on Facebook can also be found on Getty Images, where the caption says, “Thousands of Wisconsin teachers, state workers and unions protest Gov. Walker’s legislation, in the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, Friday, February 18, 2011.”

During Kavanaugh’s confirmation, people protested after Christine Blasey Ford accused the then-Supreme Court nominee of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s, an allegation Kavanaugh denied. The protests occurred at Capitol Hill, including inside the Capitol building and a Senate office building, and at the Supreme Court, according to USA Today and NBC News. Over 300 protesters were arrested at Capitol Hill, CNN reported.

Four people died during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to The New York Times. Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer, died the next day from injuries sustained while engaging with rioters, the outlet reported.

Brad Sylvester

Fact Check Editor
Follow Brad on Twitter Have a fact check suggestion? Send ideas to [email protected]

Trending