As hundreds of supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the US capital on January 6, some social media users said protesters were also storming state houses in Georgia and Kansas. Trump supporters did protest in both places, but the events were peaceful.
A post has been retweeted more than 5,500 times here , reads: “JUST IN – #Georgia and #Capital buildings were stormed by protesters”. Posts on Facebook with the claim are visible here, here, here.
As reported by Reuters here, supporters of President Donald Trump held rallies at state houses across the United States on January 6, disrupting some official functions but not storming any buildings (here).
GEORGIA
Franka Young, a spokeswoman for the Georgia State Patrol Public Information Office, told Reuters in an email that a rally by about 60 protesters was “peaceful” and “there were no incidents.”
“A few (protesters) entered the visiting Capitol and went through the normal security procedures to enter the building,” she said.
Reuters reported here that a large court complex and two other government buildings in Atlanta were closed as a precaution during the protests.
Georgia State Department staffer Brad Raffensperger left their offices early out of an abundance of caution, but Raffensperger was not there, according to spokesman Walter Jones.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported here that some protesters outside the Capitol building were carrying ‘assault weapons’. Reuters could not independently confirm this.
Footage by Alyssa Pointer here , photographer of the AJC, shows Chester Doles, founder of American Patriots USA and former KKK leader (here) inside the Capitol building.
Images of the small protest have been documented here by local media.
KANSAS
On January 6, pro-Trump protesters entered the State House in Kansas in Topeka and gathered in the first floor of the Capitol Rotunda, but they remained peaceful, as reported here and here.
Lieutenant Terry Golightley, public information officer for the Kansas Capitol police, told Reuters in an email that the protest was scheduled and that the organizer had obtained a permit. Members of the group “entered a security investigation and distributed the permit at the appointed time”, he added.
The scene was documented by local reporters here , here , here .
VERDICT
Untrue. Protesters did not storm the state houses in Kansas and Georgia.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.