According to The Guardian report on December 12, New Yorkers are organising to protect street vendors from ICE immigration enforcement amid rising fear and raids. Community groups are offering ‘know your rights’ info, training volunteers and mobilising locals to help vendors, many of whom are immigrants and feel increasingly vulnerable under federal crackdowns.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which people are seen throwing snow at uniformed personnel.
Those sharing the video claim it shows New Yorkers protesting in the US against ICE by throwing snow at them.
A social media user shared the video and wrote, “Footage from New York City shows a winter street incident where residents threw snowballs toward ICE agents. The situation briefly intensified as snowballs filled the air, with one agent appearing to momentarily lose balance before recovering. The clip has circulated widely, drawing attention to public reactions during heightened moments in the city.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is from Russia showing Pro-Alexei Navalny protesters pelting police with snowballs.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by The Telegraph on January 24, 2021, with a description that reads, “A small group of Russian riot police officers were targeted by snowball-throwing protesters during protests in Moscow on Saturday. Supporters of the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were protesting against his arrest next to Tsvenoi Boulevard in central Moscow. The incident happened after several hours of rallies."
We found that the same video was also shared by Guardian News on January 23, 2021, with a caption that reads, “Tens of thousands of Alexei Navalny supporters have protested across Russia in one of the largest demonstrations against Vladimir Putin’s rule in the past decade.”
The incident was also reported by Euro News on January 23, 2021.
According to the report, pro-Navalny demonstrators in Moscow hurled snowballs at riot police during mass protests calling for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s release. The rallies, some of the largest in years, saw heavy clashes and widespread arrests as authorities moved to suppress the unsanctioned gatherings.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
