Another Fourth of July, another anti-fascist rumor. In late June 2020, as protests continued across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody after a white police officer kneeled on his neck, a Facebook post and far-right media outlet alleged that anti-fascist groups (antifa) were planning a series of violent actions against white communities in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, over July Fourth weekend.
Snopes readers inquired about a Facebook post from late June that claimed antifa — purportedly trained by radical Muslims — planned to burn flags at the Gettysburg National Cemetery on July 4, 2020. They would allegedly use the cover of holiday fireworks to murder white people and burn down white suburbs. These plans were supposedly confirmed by the Gettysburg Police Department.
This was not the first time that antifa, a loosely organized coalition of far-left groups, was accused of making similar plans in Gettysburg around the national holiday.
Gettysburg, the 1863 site of a decisive battle in the American Civil War that led to the eventual victory of Union forces over the Confederacy, has been the location of anticipated protests and confrontations in recent years between right-wing groups who support the continued display of Confederate monuments and the Confederate flag — historically tied to racism and slavery — and far-left, anti-fascist, anti-racist activists.
Although much about the sources and veracity of the 2020 rumors remains unknown, the rumors were also peppered with falsehoods. Over the course of our investigation, we learned that similar rumors cropped up in July 2017. We begin our analysis there.
Kurgen
Article URL : https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/07/01/antifascist-rumors-home-gettysburg/