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Donald Trump Jr.
Donald Trump Jr.
stated on May 24, 2022 in a video:

“American journalist” Jack Posobiec was “arrested at World Economic Forum.”

False
By Monique Curet
May 25, 2022

No, Jack Posobiec was not arrested or detained in Davos

If your time is short

• Police did not arrest any journalist in Davos, a police spokesperson said.

 

See the sources for this fact-check

As the World Economic Forum took place in Davos, Switzerland, video of an interaction between police and conservative pundit Jack Posobiec spurred multiple false claims on social media.

A video posted May 24 by Donald Trump Jr., was captioned, “American journalist arrested at World Economic Forum.” The video shows Posobiec, a former One America News Network personality now affiliated with conservative news organization Turning Point USA, outside what appears to be a restaurant while uniformed police stand nearby.

Trump used the word “detained” when narrating the video, and wording at the top of the video also used the word detained rather than arrested.

The video was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

But Posobiec was neither arrested nor detained in Davos, police said.

“This news is fake!” wrote Markus Walser, a spokesperson for police from the Grisons canton, or district, where the World Economic Forum is held. Police in the Grisons canton did not arrest any journalist in Davos, Walser said.

When asked if Posobiec was detained, Walser said it’s clear from the video that he was not.

In his video, Trump says, “Yesterday in Davos, Jack Posobiec, an American journalist, was detained there for a matter of time,” speculating that it was because Posobiec was “going against their agenda.”

In the footage, Posobiec was on the patio outside a restaurant and initially appeared to be speaking with uniformed police officers and other people wearing plain clothes who are not identified. Then, a person off camera began questioning the officers about why they were “detaining” Posobiec, and the remainder of the video was focused on the interaction between the person off camera and the authorities.

The officers did not provide a reason why police were talking with Posobiec. In the footage, Posobiec was not physically restrained.

One person with the police group said they were doing a normal patrol and that they had a reason for interacting with Posobiec, but would not provide the reason. The person said “everything is clear now” and that they were about to leave the area.

Walser, the police spokesperson, said that before and during the World Economic Forum, police officers carry out security checks on people and vehicles.

Conservative news outlet the Daily Caller reported that Posobiec was “briefly surrounded” by Swiss police. “Posobiec was not handcuffed or arrested, and was not taken into any physical detainment in any of the footage shared online thus far,” the story said.

Posobiec changed his Twitter handle to “WEF Detainee Poso.”

We reached out to the Trump Organization seeking comment from Trump but did not receive a reply.

Despite Trump’s claim, Posobiec was neither arrested nor detained in Davos.

We rate the claim False. 

Our Sources

Daily Caller, "Footage Appears To Show Jack Posobiec Being Questioned By Swiss Police," May 23, 2022

Email interview, Markus Walser, spokesperson, cantonal police of Grisons, May 25, 2022

Facebook video, May 24, 2022

PolitIFact, "Donald J. Trump Jr.," accessed May 25, 2022

 

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