Claim:
A video authentically showed white supremacists lynching a Black man who spoke out against the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Rating:
Rating: Miscaptioned
Context:
Though it was not possible to determine the political leanings of the people in the video, it did not show a crowd “lynching” a Black man. Rather, local news media reported a fight broke out at a vigil for Charlie Kirk held in Boise, Idaho, after a person “screamed an expletive about Kirk.” Police arrested two people, according to reports, and there were no fatalities.
In September 2025, days after the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during a speaking event at Utah Valley University, a video (archived) circulated that claimed to show white supremacists lynching a Black man who spoke out against Kirk.
The video showed a crowd of people gathered outside the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. A person appeared to be dragged off a rented e-bike and set upon by the crowd before several people eventually pinned the person to the ground.
The video bore the caption, “White supremacists reportedly lynch!ng black man collectively, claiming that he spoke against Charlie Kirk.”
The video was also popular on Instagram (archived).
The footage, however, was miscaptioned. While it was not possible to determine the political leanings of the crowd that set upon the person on the e-bike, the video did not show a lynching. Though the term applies generally to killings by a mob without due process, it carries strong associations to violence by white people against Black people during racial segregation periods in the U.S.
According to local news outlets (archived) whose reporters witnessed the incident, the video showed a fight between a Black man who, according to Idaho News 6, “screamed an expletive about Kirk” and attendees at a vigil remembering the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder. Local media reported that police arrested two people — one Black man and one Hispanic man, according to the online offender search system Vine — following a fight at the Sept. 11, 2025, vigil.
We reached out to Boise Police Department to confirm the details reported in local news media about the fight and arrests and await a reply.
Footage from the event did not capture the expletive that the man on the bike reportedly shouted, though one reporter claimed (archived) it was “F*** Charlie Kirk.”
Idaho News 6 reported that “hundreds” attended the candlelit vigil on the statehouse steps in Boise.
On Sept. 12, 2025, two days after Kirk died on Sept. 10, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed authorities had arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson on suspicion of carrying out the deadly shooting.
Kirk is survived by his wife and two children.
Snopes has fact checked multiple reported quotes by Kirk, including whether he once said “some” gun deaths were “worth it” to preserve the Second Amendment.
Sources:
History of Lynching in America | NAACP. https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
“Hundreds Participate in Candlelight Vigil for Charlie Kirk in Boise.” Idaho News 6 Boise Twin Falls (KIVI), 11 Sep. 2025, https://www.kivitv.com/downtown-boise/candlelight-vigil-for-charlie-kirk-in-boise.
“Live Updates: 22-Year-Old Utah Man in Custody in Connection with Charlie Kirk Shooting.” AP News, https://apnews.com/live/charlie-kirk-shooting-news. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
“Two Boise Men Are in Custody Following a Fight That Broke out at Charlie Kirk Vigil.” Idaho News 6 Boise Twin Falls (KIVI), 11 Sep. 2025, https://www.kivitv.com/downtown-boise/two-boise-men-are-in-custody-following-a-fight-that-broke-out-at-charlie-kirk-vigil.
