Social media users shared an image online with a letter that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allegedly sent to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, asking him to use the ‘proven Democratic Playbook’ in response to the demonstrations in his city. This letter was produced.
Examples can be seen here and here.
Some users believe the letter is authentic and comment on it, including: ‘She is NOT fit to serve!’, ‘She is pure anger’, ‘She has to go to jail’ and ‘Why we do not fight. Pray that justice will prevail ”.
The letter urges Wheeler to “stick to the tried and tested Democratic Play book” and mentions five actions Wheeler could take in response to the protests in Portland.
The five actions suggested in the letter are: to deny any problem, to show support for anyone who violates the law, to blame President Donald J. Trump when the order can not be, to go on television to condemn Trump and refuse any help.
The letter also states that the media will support or praise this action.
The letter, with punctuation and grammatical errors, was dated 27 August 2020 and shows Pelosi’s letterhead and signature.
The language used in the letter is very different from other letters sent by Pelosi, examples of which can be seen here and here.
Reuters could not find any credible evidence to show that this letter was genuine. It does not appear on Pelosi’s website, where all of her statements, letters and speeches appear on www.speaker.gov/newsroom.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told Reuters in an email that the letter was “false”.
Protests against racism and police brutality have swept the United States following the death in May 2020 of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. President Donald Trump’s government deployed federal forces to Portland in July to quell the protests (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. This letter from Nancy Pelosi, American speaker, to Ted Wheeler, Mayor of Portland, has been produced.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.