July 4 2020 Gettysburg hoax
In the summer of 2020, an image was spread around social media supposedly calling for a flag burning at Gettysburg National Cemetery organized by "antifa." This hoax event prompted online right-wing sympathizers to organize counter-protests in the Gettysburg area.
| 4 July Gettysburg Hoax | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of George Floyd protests | ||||
| Date | 4 July 2020 | |||
| Location | 39.8203° N, 77.2318° W | |||
| Caused by | A social media hoax threatening a flag burning performed by antifa | |||
| Resulted in | Social media fact checking called into question and foreign influence alleged in domestic U.S. politics by members of U.S. Congress | |||
| Parties to the civil conflict | ||||
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| Number | ||||
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| Casualties | ||||
| Injuries | 0 | |||
| Detained | 0 (Somes removed from park) | |||
Though the event propagated by the spoof page "Left Behind USA" at Gettysburg was removed from social media and discredited by authorities, it prompted an estimated 500 counter-protestors to show up to the Gettysburg area, many of them armed.[1][2] Trent Somes, who was visiting a grave in the cemetery wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt, not protesting, was surrounded and aggressively questioned by around 50 counter-protestors while exiting the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Somes was removed from the cemetery by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the National Park Service. Jason Martz, acting public affairs officer for Gettysburg National Military Park, told The Washington Post “For his own safety, federal law enforcement made the decision to remove him, and he was escorted out of the cemetery." Somes filmed part of the encounter, including his interaction with police, and posted the video on his personal YouTube and Facebook accounts where it was spread around social media platforms. The Washington Post published the initial story in an investigative report on the hoax and the incident, where Somes was quoted and the video linked.[3][4] The altercation received widespread, international media attention.
Trent Somes
Somes was born into a military family, and grew up living across the world. His family moved to the Greater Pittsburgh Region in 2006 where Somes attended Penn-Trafford High School, graduating in 2017. Somes attended Washington & Jefferson College where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, founded an interfaith campus organization, and obtained a BA in political science in 2020.[5]
While in high school and college Somes was politically active and ran for Washington City Council in the Democratic primaries.[6] Following his graduation he was hired at First United Methodist Church of Hanover, Pennsylvania to serve on the pastoral team while studying at Wesley Theological Seminary. At the time of the Gettysburg incident, Somes was a Novice in the Order of Saint Luke.
Somes later tweeted that he had been terminated from First United Methodist Church of Hanover for his support for black lives matter, though reinstatement had been offered he had returned to Wesley.[7]
Adam Rahuba
Following the incident, The Washington Post identified Adam Rahuba, 38, of the greater Pittsburgh area as the troll behind the Gettysburg hoax and others.[8] Adam was a self-described democratic socialist and Bernie Sanders supporter. Rahuba also claimed responsibility for 911wasfunny.com, a Twitter account under the handle @joinantifa, fake posts regarding Trayvon Martin, and a 2017 controversy to vandalize Confederate monuments and to burn a Confederate flag in Gettysburg where at least one counter-protestor was injured by his own firearm. Rahuba told the Post, “I’ve found myself very annoyed with the rise of right-wing populism,” he said. “So I thought I’d do my own thing to push back against them.”[8]
Responses
- The widespread coverage of incident prompted Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Peter Welch, members of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter to the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation expressing concern over hoax events and potential foreign influence that caused violent responses, citing the Gettysburg incident and Left Behind USA page.[9]
- The incident was cited as an example of the offline dangers of social media, undermining Facebook's factchecking efforts, and an example of heightened levels of violence between black lives matter protestors and their right-wing opponents in the wake of the George Floyd protests.[10][11]
- Somes was praised, especially by those on the left, for his calm demeanor during the altercation.[12]
Connection to 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
At least one person, Rachel Powell, known colloquially as the "Pink Hat Lady" or "Bullhorn Lady", who attacked Somes at Gettysburg has been identified in connections with the storming of the United States Capitol.[13]
See also
References
- Matthews, David. "Right-wing militias patrol Gettysburg over flag-burning rumors". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- "Rumors Swirl About Antifa, Gettysburg, and July Fourth ... Again". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- Somes, Trent (5 July 2020). "Man wearing Black Lives Matter shirt surrounded by crowd in Gettysburg". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- Boburg, Shawn; Bennett, Dalton (2020-07-04). "Militias flocked to Gettysburg to foil a supposed antifa flag burning, an apparent hoax created on social media". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- "Welcome Trent Somes!". www.firstumchanover.org. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
- "W&J student, businessman seeking city council seats". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
- Somes, Trent. "Somes announces termination". Twitter. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- Boburg, Shawn (17 July 2020). "The troll: A fake flag burning at Gettysburg was only his latest hoax". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- "House Democrats seek information from CIA and FBI on antifa rumors". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- Zakrzewski, Cat (6 July 2020). "The Technology 202: The Gettysburg gathering highlights the offline dangers of social media hoaxes". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- Hennessy-Fiske, Molly (10 July 2020). "From vehicle rammings to verbal tirades, videos capture a spike in racist attacks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- "Pastor Trent delivers master class in nonviolent communication and bests armed mob, single-handed". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-pennsylvania-mothers-path-to-insurrection-capitol-riot