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Fact check: Kamala Harris said protests aren't going to stop, but condemns violence

Camille Caldera, USA TODAY
·4 min read

The claim: Kamala Harris said that riots will not and should not stop

Nationwide protests over racial injustice have surged once more after police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back on Aug. 23.

Though largely peaceful, some of this summer's protests have at times turned violent.

A clip of Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris on an episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in June has resurfaced online.

Its title on YouTube claims: "Kamala Harris wants the riots to continue and not let up, not now not even after the election."

Likewise, posts on Facebook — some with a screenshot of the exchange with Colbert, others without — claim to reference her comments about riots.

"Kamala Harris says that riots are not going to stop, ever, and to BEWARE. With a smile on her face," they read.

Users behind the posts did not respond to requests from USA TODAY to comment.

Fact check: Altered video clip purports to show Joe Biden asleep on live TV

Exchange between Harris and Colbert referred to protests, not riots

The exchange between Harris and Colbert — which took place on June 17, a few weeks after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis — referred to protests, not riots. The word "riot" is not even mentioned in the 30-second exchange.

"I know there are protests still happening in major cities across the United States, I'm just not seeing the reporting on it that I had for the first few weeks," Colbert said.

"That's right," Harris replied. "But they're not gonna stop. They're not gonna stop, and this is a movement, I'm telling you."

"They're not gonna stop, and everyone beware, because they're not gonna stop," she added. "They're not gonna stop before Election Day in November, and they're not gonna stop after Election Day."

"Everyone should take note of that, on both levels, that they're not going to let up — and they should not. And we should not," she concluded.

Harris has condemned the violence that turned some protests into riots

Although she has expressed support for protesters, Harris has also condemned the violence, including looting, that has turned some of the summer's protests into riots.

In her rebuttal to President Donald Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, Harris reiterated the importance of nonviolence.

"We must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protesters," she said. "We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence, including the shooter who was arrested for murder."

"Make no mistake, we will not let these vigilantes and extremists derail the path to justice," she added.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has likewise condemned the violence. "Shooting in the streets of a great American city is unacceptable. I condemn this violence unequivocally. I condemn violence of every kind by any one, whether on the left or the right," Biden said in a statement.

Fact check: Democrats have condemned violence linked to BLM, anti-fascist protests

Our rating: Partly false

Based on our research, the claim that Kamala Harris said riots will not and should not stop is PARTLY FALSE. It's true that Harris told Stephen Colbert that she believes protests against racism are "not gonna stop," and said that she supports protesters. But that exchange does not discuss riots, and she has condemned the acts of violence and looting that turned some protests into riots.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Kamala Harris said protests aren't going to stop