No, protesters did not set a Philadelphia ICE van on fire — here’s what really happened in the viral video
Officials suspect no foul play in the Society Hill vehicle fire.
Video of an ICE van engulfed by flames in Philadelphia went viral this week, and so, too, did one dominating story behind it — surely, this was a case of leftist terrorism. It was not.
“It was determined that it was an accidental fire,” said Rachel Cunningham, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Fire Department. A fire marshal spoke to the driver of the vehicle, who escaped unharmed, and determined that the fire was accidental, according to Cunningham.
“There’s no suspicion of foul play,” she said.
While it remains unclear what exactly caused the fire, the van “experienced mechanical issues” beforehand, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Tanya Roman, who affirmed that no foul play was suspected.
The fire department responded to a call about the van ablaze in front of a Society Hill residence just before 8:40 a.m. Tuesday. One fire truck was sent to the scene and extinguished the fire, Cunningham said. The fire marshal was called as a precaution, since the van was a government vehicle.
Video of the burning vehicle seems to have first appeared on the Citizen app, before it got picked up by several X accounts with large followings, as well as some TikTok and Instagram accounts later in the day.
The far-right “Libs of TikTok” account on X shared the video, writing that the van was “set on fire” without evidence, and gathered over 1 million views. Pundit Charlie Kirk, a right-wing media personality and founder of the conservative activist organization Turning Point USA, shared Libs’ post and gathered nearly 2 million more views on his own, writing: “If found to be intentional, which it appears to be, this is literal left-wing terrorism to make sure our country continues to be invaded.”
Other right-wing influencer X accounts shared the video with similar declarations, like Benny Johnson, a social media news personality who has 3.5 million followers.
Some similar accounts, who originally posted the video with captions alleging left-wing violence, have since deleted their posts.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.