Uncuff me here: The fact-check

FactCheck.Org serves up a reductio ad absurdum of the fact-check form in “Ocasio-Cortez Was Arrested at Abortion-Rights Protest, Contrary to Social Media Posts.” Confirmed: AOC was detained and fined $50, almost like Martin Luther King in Birmingham:

Following the arrests, various Facebook posts falsely claimed that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York pretended to be arrested.

One post showed multiple pictures of Ocasio-Cortez being held by a Capitol Police officer, and it read: “AOC pretending to be arrested and handcuffed is the most AOC moment of her career.”

“But,” the fact-check continues, “Ocasio-Cortez was indeed one of those arrested.” They don’t bother to fact-check the fake handcuffs. As with Biden’s mental infirmity, we are not to say out loud what we can see with our own eyes. The Emperor in the Andersen fairy tale could have used FactCheck.Org.

AOC didn’t have to sit in a paddy wagon, wasn’t taken into custody, and sported fake handcuffs to the “processing” on the scene. As I say, however, think Martin Luther King and Birmingham jail.

What about the fake handcuffs? Analyze this:

Some of the social media posts appeared to misunderstand what it means to be arrested. As they were led away from the Supreme Court, Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota both walked with their hands behind their backs. Some posts took this to mean the two representatives were pretending to be in handcuffs.

One of the responses to the Capitol Police tweet about the 35 arrests said, “So, they were handcuffed and placed into custody until their hearing, unless the[y] placed bail? If not, you didn’t arrest them, and lying about something like this is absolutely hillarious.” Another person told the Capitol Police, “Prove it. Where’s the mugshots of the arrested?”

Being handcuffed, having mugshots taken and receiving a hearing are not necessary to be arrested. An arrest is defined as “the use of legal authority to deprive a person of their freedom of movement.” PolitiFact and Snopes both reported that Capitol Police said the protesters weren’t handcuffed because these arrests were “noncustodial,” meaning no one was taken into custody.

On Twitter, Ocasio-Cortez explained why she walked with her arms crossed behind her back. She tweeted, “Putting your hands behind your back is a best practice while detained, handcuffed or not, to avoid escalating charges like resisting arrest.”

She said she wasn’t faking handcuffs. So there. That’s what they call a fact-check. See the post’s “List of Sources.”

Quotable quote: “We also reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment but didn’t hear back.”

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