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Video clips show the Ohio Statehouse, not the White House
If Your Time is short
- Protesters broke windows and damaged property at the Ohio Statehouse during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd on May 29.
- No protesters broke into the White House in Washington, D.C.
A couple thousand people protested outside the White House in Washington, D.C. on May 29 over the death of George Floyd after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the black man’s neck.
NBC News reported that protesters chanted "black lives matter" and that the Secret Service put the White House under lockdown as the demonstration grew outside its gates. At one point, according to NBC, Secret Service officers took a woman into custody after she climbed over a barrier. Protesters later moved to the Trump International Hotel and demonstrated there, NBC said.
But they didn’t break into the White House as social media posts claim.
"THEY BROKE INTO THE WHITE HOUSE," reads the text over a clip of a demonstration that shows a man using a chair to break a window on a white building with columns. In another video clip, people gather outside a domed white building with columns.
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Featured Fact-check
The video does not show the White House in Washington, D.C. It’s the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, where protesters smashed windows during demonstrations. A local NBC affiliate reported that the protests began peacefully but were broken up by police as they became destructive.
Twenty-eight windows were broken, five lamp poles were damaged, and American flags were burned by demonstrators, according to Newsweek.
"One protester was able to gain access to the Statehouse through a broken window to an office," Newsweek quotes Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Craig Cvetan as saying. "However, the protester fled back out the window before troopers could apprehend him from the interior. He was taken into custody by Columbus police when he exited the window."
We rate this Facebook post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, May 30, 2020
NBC News, Protesters outraged over George Floyd’s death march on White House, May 29, 2020
Reuters, Protesters smash windows of Ohio statehouse during night of protest, May 29, 2020
NBC4 Columbus, Protest in downtown Columbus broken up after demonstrators breach Ohio Statehouse, May 29, 2020
Newsweek, Ohio Statehouse has windows smashed, American flags burned by those protesting George Floyd’s death, May 29, 2020
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Video clips show the Ohio Statehouse, not the White House
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