A video showing two Black men carrying items out of a home during the California wildfires went viral this week, igniting accusations of them being looters. Critics of the premature accusations labeled them as rooted in racial bias.
Why It Matters
The California wildfires, exacerbated by dry conditions and high winds, have led to widespread devastation. More than 30,000 acres have burned, thousands of homes have been destroyed, and over 100,000 residents have been forced to evacuate. Amid the chaos, law enforcement officials have reported incidents of looting in evacuation zones and promised to hold those found to be looting to the fullest extent of the law.
What To Know
The video of the men carrying bags of items away from a fire and a TV out of the house has gone viral on social media. One user, who’s post on X, formerly Twitter, has 3.5 million views, commented that “the usual suspects are looting again.” A Community Note was appended to the original post.
The usual suspects are looting again. pic.twitter.com/FKpWaQ8yUE
— Machiavelli (@TheRISEofROD) January 9, 2025
A community note on the post said the footage was from KTLA news and the people in it were a homeowner’s family and friends.
The homeowner told KTLA that her brothers were helping to salvage belongings from the property amid widespread evacuations in Los Angeles County.
“They told us to leave and we got what we could,” the homeowner said. “We have dogs, we have animals. We just got what we could get, that’s all we could do. We’ve got to start over.”
While talking about her son, she told KTLA that her son got “everything that was of value to his mother.”
Laura Miers, who has nearly 70,000 followers on X, shared a screenshot of a post accusing the men of being looters and criticized people spreading the false footage. Other users said people making the assumption that the men in the video were looters was an example of racism.
Tariq Nasheed, a film producer and internet personality, shared the video and wrote on X that “degenerate online suspected white supremacists are falsely accusing black people who are helping their neighbors move their possessions to safety as being ‘looters.’”
Open Source Intel, an X user with over 300,000 followers, apologized for sharing the video after learning that the people were evacuating their home and weren’t looting.
“I am now called racist and that’s fine, but just know I have absolutely. Nothing against people of color, quite the opposite,” the user posted.
Local authorities have been on high alert to prevent looting in areas affected by the wildfires. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed 20 arrests related to looting and emphasized a zero-tolerance policy.
“We are up to 20 individuals who chose to go into our areas and deprive these poor people, who have been through so much, of their property,” Luna said in a press conference, adding that more arrests could follow.
Newsweek has reached out to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
What People Are Saying
Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles County Supervisor, during a press conference: “I promise you, you will be held accountable. Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis.”
District Attorney of Los Angeles County Nathan Hochman, in a video on X: “Let me make it quite clear what’s going to happen: The DA’s office, working with law enforcement, is going to arrest you, they’re going to prosecute you, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law. That’s a promise.”
What’s Next
Authorities continue to patrol evacuation zones to deter further looting, with plans to implement curfews in heavily impacted areas. The Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, the two biggest burning in Los Angeles County now, are still burning and remain less than 10 percent contained.
The post Black Men Falsely Accused of Looting While Evacuating Wildfire: ‘Racist’ appeared first on Newsweek.
