Four-Year-old Dies After Anti-Trump Protesters Block Ambulance-Unproven!
Summary of eRumor:
A four-year-old child died after anti-Trump protesters blocked an ambulance on its way to a hospital.
The Truth:
Anti-Trump protesters have blocked streets and highways in cities across the country, but there haven’t been any confirmed reports of protesters intentionally blocking an ambulance, or of a four-year-old dying as a result.
Rumors about anti-Trump protesters blocking an ambulance started on social media with a post that supposedly came from an unnamed EMT who posted about it on social media on November 9th:
A few days later, right wing news sites seized on the post and reported it as fact. However, none of those reports cited official police sources, or reported which city it supposedly happened in, and we couldn’t find any local news reports about protesters blocking an ambulance.
But Anti-Trump protesters have blocked a number of roadways across the country. In Minneapolis, protesters shut down the heavily trafficked Interstate 94 on November 11th, but the Star-Tribune reports, “They eventually left the freeway via Cedar Avenenue… No one was hurt, and no one was arrested.”
Similarly, protesters temporarily closed roadways in Portland, where nobody was arrested, and in Los Angeles, were about 28 people were arrested for refusing to move, Southern California Public Radio reports:
When the crowd did move onto the freeway, the LAPD and the California Highway Patrol issued an order to disperse and eventually began arresting anyone who failed to comply, Ramirez said.
Photos from the scene showed officers in full tactical gear, with protesters squaring off against police. About 28 people were arrested.
Ramirez said people have the right to protest, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else or threaten public safety.
So, although there have been reports of anti-Trump protesters blocking roadways, there haven’t been any reports of protesters blocking ambulances.
In fact, this could be a variation of an earlier rumor that went viral in July 2016. When Black Lives Matter protesters shut down the I-40 Bridge in Memphis, Tennessee, it was reported that a child on the way to the hospital for a heart transplant died while waiting in traffic. WBTV reported that area hospitals and police had debunked the reports, saying nobody died as a result of the protest.