claim: a photograph shows a swastika flag bearing the names trump and pence displayed at the operation gridlock protest in michigan.
question: was a swastika flag displayed at operation gridlock protest?
origin: on april 15, 2020, hundreds of michiganders turned up in the state’s capitol for operation gridlock, a protest against the stay-at-home orders implemented to combat the spread of the covid-19 coronavirus disease. as social media lit up with comments and photographs of the event, one image supposedly showing a flag bearing a swastika flag and the words “trump” and “pence” started to go viral.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  this appears to be a genuine photograph. however, it was not taken in lansing, michigan, during operation gridlock in april 2020 and it may not actually show a trump supporter.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  this photograph was taken a month earlier at a protest in boise, idaho. twitter user @notaxiwarrior first shared this image on march 2, 2020, along with the following caption:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  today i witnessed a bunch of trump supporters crashing a peaceful rally i was attending with my family. they were profane, disrespectful &amp; crowded behind a nazi flag. not one trumpster confronted him on his racism. they all stood behind him of course, showing their true selves
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  in a follow-up message, @notaxiwarrior added more details:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  edit for clarification: this was at a bernie sanders rally, the trump supporters were counter protesting. it was held at the ann morrison park in boise, id.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  today i witnessed a bunch of trump supporters crashing a peaceful rally i was attending with my family. they were profane.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  it should be noted that while this photograph is real, the person holding this flag may not actually be a trump supporter. additional images from the event appear to show that this person was holding a bernie sanders sign at another point during the rally:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  footage of this person holding the flag can be glimpsed around the 4:30 mark of the following video:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that a nazi symbol has been displayed at a bernie sanders rally. a few days after this photograph was taken, a man unfurled a nazi flag at a sanders rally in arizona, as buzzfeed news reported:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  a man waving a nazi flag and shouting “heil hitler” was kicked out of a rally for bernie sanders on thursday, a shocking incident targeting the man running to be the first jewish president.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the flag, styled professionally in the actual designs of nazi germany, hung prominently over a banister at the 7,000-person arizona veterans memorial coliseum at the start of sanders’ speech. the person stationed himself in the upper deck of the arena, behind where sanders was speaking.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the above-displayed image was not taken during the operation gridlock protest in april 2020 in lansing, michigan. however, at least one protester did display a swastika at operation gridlock to suggest that the “stay-at-home” orders implemented in michigan were comparable to nazi germany.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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comment: a genuine photograph circulated with a misleading caption.
summary: a photograph supposedly showing a flag bearing a swastika flag and the words "trump" and "pence" started to go viral. this appears to be a genuine photograph. however, it was not taken in lansing, michigan, during operation gridlock in april 2020 and it may not actually show a trump supporter. the photograph was taken a month earlier at a protest in boise, idaho. additional images from the event appear to show that this person was holding a bernie sanders sign.