Social media users have shared a post claiming that authorities in the US capital, Washington, D.C., are checking IDs of people seeking to enter the city. However, a fact-check by Reuters has found that this claim is false.
Examples of this post:
https://www.facebook.com/only1charlene/posts/10225048375021766
https://www.facebook.com/josh.hazelwood.35/posts/1022151778194570
https://www.facebook.com/al.murrell1/posts/10225093074743808
In one of the posts he writes:
"Checking IDs to enter Washington DC…….. But if we had checked IDs at the polls we wouldn't be in the mess we are in."
However, the American capital has not actually taken any additional security measures after January 6, preparations for the inauguration of President Joe Biden, which took place on January 20.
Security forces once again came out to defend the Capitol building on March 4, the day for which the escorts The QAnon group, based on conspiracy theories, had predicted that former US President Donald Trump would return to his office in the White House.
But Alaina Gertz, a public relations specialist for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, told Reuters that the claims made on social media are false. “There is no ID requirement or any other check being implemented for the District of Columbia,” Gertz said. “I don’t recall any instance where we’ve ever had such a requirement in the city.”