Correction, 12:35 p.m. September 26, 2018: The fact-check originally misidentified this video as a training video. The video appears to be real footage of a police officer tackling someone to the ground in Huntington Beach, California. There is no evidence, however, that the individual was a member of Antifa as the video’s caption claims.
Over the weekend a video was posted on Facebook purporting to be of a police officer taking down a member of Antifa.
“ANTIFA vs. a patriot police office” the caption claims.
The post received more than 55,000 shares and about 4,000 comments arguing whether the cop’s forceful actions were justified as well as whether or not the “Antifa” was really just an old homeless lady.
“Please change,your,post.This is not antifa but a homeless woman. Please stop spreading rumors. She did attack which is fine but clear up your Miss statement,” one commenter said. “She sure is a well-dressed ‘homeless’ woman. Wearing a silver dangling necklace? Nice boots and very young. Even if, she didn’t have reason to charge up on a cop screaming,” another retorted.
One user replied to the post by suggesting that “women libbers want to be treated equally so there ya go!!!” followed by several confusing emojis. (The replies to that comment then devolved into an argument over the physical strength of men vs. women. As the internet is wont to do.)
There is no evidence, however, to suggest that the individual tackled to the ground is a member of Antifa. The person is sitting in front of a restaurant and there are no signs of a rally or demonstration in the area. In a longer version of the video, it appears that the individual is yelling at other pedestrians before the police officer shows up.
The video, in addition to circulating on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites, also appears on a blog post on the website of Team One Network, a business that provides safety training and instruction to law enforcement officers. [Editor’s note: TWS Fact Check initially described the video as a “training video.” We regret the error.]
Some commenters, however, may not care. They seem content to dwell on some “George Soros operation” and not on the merits of the police officer’s use of force.
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