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Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke November 3, 2023

Video shows 2020 protesters invited into someone’s home, not 2023 rioters breaking in

If Your Time is short

  • This video was filmed in 2020 and shows people invited into someone’s home in Washington, D.C. It does not show protesters in October 2023.

A video that shows people streaming up the stairs into someone’s home is being characterized in the comments of an Instagram post as "a scene right out of ‘Gangs of New York.’" 

Except text above the video claims this shows "protests in Washington D.C." on Oct. 28. 

The protests were "hitting next level as rioters rush people’s houses," the text says. 

The Instagram post sharing this video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

A couple of things are wrong here. 

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First, this video is from 2020 as demonstrators around the country protested the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. 

Second, WUSA-TV, the Washington, D.C., CBS News affiliate, reported June 4, 2020, that protesters weren’t breaking into someone’s home — they were invited inside. 

Rahul Dubey confirmed to the station that he welcomed dozens of protesters inside on June 1, 2020, to wait out a 7p.m. curfew.

"If ‘Get in the house’ is not an indicator that one is welcome in a stranger’s home, I don’t know what else is," Dubey said. "These were strangers, the invited guests, the community members and now we are family. I invited them in on Monday night, and they are welcome anytime." 

We rate claims this video shows rioters rushing people’s homes in Washington on Oct. 28, 2023, False.

 

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Video shows 2020 protesters invited into someone’s home, not 2023 rioters breaking in

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