Video of 8-foot-tall barricades at the Supreme Court is from 2022, not this week
Visitors pose for photographs at the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Washington. Social media users are falsely claiming that a video shows tall fences blocking access to the building this week. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
CLAIM: A video shows tall black fences put up Monday to block access to the Supreme Court building in Washington, an indication of impending “chaos.”
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The video is from May 2022 and shows fencing erected following the leak of a draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade. Shorter barriers are present in the area, but the building was open Monday and Tuesday during its usual visiting hours. Aside from people attending public sessions, it is otherwise closed to the public on days when the court convenes, as well as weekends and federal holidays. The building will next be closed on Wednesday for Juneteenth and then on Thursday, when the court is in session.
THE FACTS: Social media users are misrepresenting the 2-year-old video as new, falsely claiming that the Supreme Court is anticipating activity that would require additional security measures.
In the approximately 20-second clip, a long row of tall black fences can be seen in front of the Supreme Court building, blocking access.
“WARNING: INCOMING FALSE FLAG EVENT: IT’S CHAOS AT THE CAPITOL !!!” reads one X post. “FENCES AND BARRICADES NOW SURROUND THE US SUPREME COURT BUILDING. THE FENCES SAY ‘CHECKMATE.’”
A TikTok post that shared the video had been viewed approximately 114,900 times as of Tuesday. “Supreme Court Fenced off from the public,” a caption reads. “Monday 6/17/24.”
But the video does not reflect the current scene at the Supreme Court building. It was posted in May 2022 by a Capitol Hill reporter for Washington’s WTOP News.
The 8-foot-high, hard-to-climb fencing was installed that month after protests erupted outside the court and the homes of some Supreme Court justices following the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion that signaled the justices were planning to overturn Roe v. Wade. The courthouse had already been closed to the public since March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August 2022, the large fencing was removed, but the building remained off-limits to the public, with shorter barricades blocking off the plaza and steps in front of the Supreme Court. The public was allowed to attend arguments in the courtroom again starting that October and the court was further reopened to the public nearly two months later.
Some posts also included footage of shorter barricades in the area — the kind that are often used to control crowds at parades and other large gatherings.
An AP reporter who went to the area around noon on Tuesday verified that there was no tall fencing outside the Supreme Court building. The reporter observed that the shorter barricades were present along most of the courthouse’s perimeter, but did not block public access to the building.
Photos of the Supreme Courttakenon Tuesday reflect this description.
The building was open on Monday and Tuesday during its usual visiting hours, according to an online calendar. It is closed to the public on days the court convenes, with exceptions for those attending public sessions. It is also closed on weekends and federal holidays. The building will be closed for Juneteenth on Wednesday and again on Thursday when the court is in session and is expected to announce opinions.
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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.
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This is part of the AP’s effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
