By: Ankita Kulkarni
November 21 2023
Video of protester blocking Joe Biden’s convoy is old, unrelated to Israel-Hamas conflict
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Screenshots of social media posts claiming that the video shows a pro-Palestinian protester trying to obstruct Biden’s convoy. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The video dates back to June 2022 and shows an abortion rights protester trying to block Joe Biden’s convoy in the U.S.
Claim ID 7c8f77fd
What is the claim?
A video circulating on social media depicts a woman being handcuffed and overpowered by police personnel while allegedly attempting to block U.S. President Joe Biden's convoy. The claim accompanying the video suggests a connection to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
Sharing the post on X (formerly Twitter), a user claimed that she "intercepted the convoy of U.S. President Biden for the sake of Palestine and the people of Gaza (sic)." An archived version of the post can be found here. The video is also being shared on Facebook with similar claims. Archived versions of the posts can be viewed here, here, and here.
Screenshots of social media posts claiming that the video shows a pro-Palestinian protester trying to obstruct Biden’s convoy. Logically Facts has added a ‘false’ label to the posts for clarity. (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, we found that the video is from June 8, 2022, and shows a woman demonstrating in favor of abortion rights in the U.S.
What did we find out?
We identified a mention of 'Alarabytv' in the video's footnote. Using this as a clue, we located the same video posted on the official X account of the Qatar-based news channel on June 10, 2022. The post, originally captioned in Arabic, read, "A woman was thrown to the ground for obstructing U.S. President Joe's motorcade."
A Google search led us to a report published by The Independent on June 9, 2022. The report featured the same viral video and explained that a protester advocating for abortion rights was arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents in Los Angeles, California, for intercepting Biden’s motorcade.
It further detailed that the incident occurred while Biden's motorcade was en route to the LA Convention Center, where leaders had gathered for the ninth Summit of the Americas on June 8, 2022. Secret Service Communications Chief Anthony Guglielmi stated, “As the woman approached passing vehicles, a United States Secret Service agent swiftly removed her from the roadway and placed her into custody. There was no impact to the motorcade movement or our protectees. Our investigation into this incident is ongoing.”
We also found a similar video of the incident uploaded on the Associated Press' official YouTube channel on June 9, 2022.
Towards the end, the woman can be heard shouting, “An abortion ban will not stop abortions – only safe ones.” This makes it clear that the woman was advocating for abortion rights. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, which had legalized abortion across the U.S. in 1973. The overturn allowed states to introduce new restrictions or bans on abortion. Following this, demonstrations were held across the country condemning the court’s decision.
The verdict
An old video of an abortion rights protester attempting to block Biden’s motorcade in the U.S. is circulating with a false claim that she was protesting for Palestinians. The video predates the Israel-Hamas conflict and is unrelated to the current situation. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.