Did an Emergency Broadcast Alert reveal Donald Trump invoked the Insurrection Act? No, that's not true: A video makes the baseless claim that President Donald J. Trump informed the mayor of Oklahoma City that the "Insurrection Act has been enacted," and that arrests of Democratic elected officials will begin immediately. There is no evidence the president has invoked the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy federal and military troops within the United States. "Every aspect of this claim is entirely false. Our office has not had any communication with the White House or President Trump," JD Baker, special assistant to Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, told Lead Stories via email on January 18, 2020.
The claim appeared in a video published on Rumble by an account named "GodWins74" on January 17, 2021, titled "EMERGENCY ALERT INFORMATION!!" (archived here) which opened:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COMING DAYS! The inauguration that will never be! Insurrection act, Executive Order 13848 In full effect. God Wins!
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
EMERGENCY ALERT INFORMATION!!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COMING DAYS! The inauguration that will never be! Insurrection act, Executive Order 13848 In full effect. God Wins!
The nine-minute video shares multiple conspiracies about the future of President Trump, falsely assuring viewers that he will remain president of the United States after January 20, 2021, the day Joe Biden is, by congressional acceptance of the results of the Electoral College voting, set to be sworn in as president at 12:01 p.m. ET.
The video opens with an old-fashioned Emergency Broadcast Alert flashing and blaring on the screen. This is not a real emergency broadcast. The female voice narrating the video sounds computer-generated.
Lead Stories debunked a previous claim that President Trump had enacted the Insurrection Act, read that here.
Here are details about the Insurrection Act:
An Act authorizing the employment of the land and naval forces of the United States, in cases of insurrections
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws, either of the United States, or of any individual state or territory, where it is lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection, or of causing the laws to be duly executed, it shall be lawful for him to employ, for the same purposes, such part of the land or naval force of the United States, as shall be judged necessary, having first observed all the pre-requisites of the law in that respect.
APPROVED, March 3, 1807.
While President Trump threatened to use the military in May 2020 during the Black Lives Matters protests, he has not invoked the powers he is granted under the Insurrection Act as of this writing on January 18, 2021.
It is not at all clear from the video narration why Oklahoma City is cited as the first purported point of contact for the president, and why supposed arrests of officials would start there.
The video warns that the United States is preparing for war with China and Iran.
Don't panic. This isn't conventional war, with tanks and bombs and bullets, it is cyberwarfare including satellites that can knock out communications and data centers."
The video also makes claims about foreign troops that could be invading the United States:
There are now 250,000 Chinese troops surrounding us. 75,000 in Canada and the rest in Mexico. The generals said if they set foot in this country they will be wiped out swiftly, as they are ready."
Lead Stories has debunked several claims about Chinese soldiers surrounding the U.S. in an article published in October 2020 titled, Fact Check: Tens-Of-Thousands Of Chinese Soldiers Are NOT Quietly Massing On The Canadian Border Readying For Invasion Of The United States:
Simply stated, officials in Vancouver, Canada, say there are no Chinese troops amassed there.
"There is nothing of the sort happening here," said an email from Alvin Singh, director of communications for Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart.
"I have not received any reports of any Chinese foreign occupation of this part of Canada," Sgt. Peter DeVries of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police North Vancouver Detachment said in a telephone interview.
The hoax video also claims: "We are in a full-blown military operation right now to remove the threats and install our president back in power and control the violence in the big cities." It also addresses a statement the Joint Chiefs of Staff did in fact release on January 12, 2021, affirming that Biden will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021, with the video claiming, "What else would they say?"
The Joint Chiefs' statement reads:
On January 20, 2021, in accordance with the Constitution, confirmed by the states and the courts, and certified by Congress, President-elect Biden will be inaugurated and will become our 46th Commander in Chief."
There is no evidence of a military operation that will allow Trump to remain president after 12:01 on January 20, 2021. Lead Stories has reached out to the Pentagon for comment and will update when a response is received.
