Fact Check: Does the viral video show protest against the ICE shooting in Austin?
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Following the shooting of a man in Texas by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Sunday, September 20, a video began circulating on social media platforms claiming to show a massive protest and chaos in the state against ICE. The clip has sparked concern and speculation, requiring a fact-check.
Claim: Clip shows massive protest against Texas ICE shooting
The viral clip shows a large crowd moving along a multi-lane roadway or bridge, with thick gas that appears to be tear gas filling the air, creating a tense atmosphere as crowd dispersal measures are underway.
The 19-second clip has been shared on multiple social media platforms, garnering millions of views. One of the videos was captioned, “Austin is an active war zone now. Latinos have taken over Austin, Texas. Mexican flags can be seen everywhere.”
The clip drew conflicting reactions, with many expressing concern and condemning the protest while a few others applauded it.
Meanwhile, others questioned its authenticity and called for verification, prompting a fact-check.
Fact Check: The clip is from Indonesia, filmed in August
Although the clip is authentic, a reverse image search for key frames of the video proved it was not from Texas. Instead, it is an August 27 video from Jakarta, Indonesia, where thousands clashed with police while marching on parliament to demand harsher penalties for corrupt officials.
The unrest was part of a year-long nationwide protest that erupted into riots in which a dozen people were killed and thousands arrested.
An anonymous user from Jakarta confirmed to AFP that they recorded the video during the demonstration in Indonesia.
Hence, as the video is authentic but not related to the recent ICE shooting, the claim is rated as miscaptioned.
Shooting of a Venezuelan national by ICE
The clip surfaced after protests and chaos broke out in the streets of Austin after the shooting of a Venezuelan national, Wilber Garces Perez, during a DoorDash delivery by an ICE agent, and, according to his lawyer, Perez's was jailed in a detention center with the bullet still inside his body, despite being transported to a hospital twice.
Democratic Rep. Greg Casar called for an independent investigation and wrote on X, “The horror has come to our city: ICE has shot a person in Austin this morning.”
Although details of the shooting remained limited for hours, with authorities yet to publicly identify the man or confirm his condition, several reports described a blue Toyota Corolla with bullet damage to its passenger-side door, drawing attention from local officials.
