The National’s Aaron Dessner was the target of a bizarre false claim Sunday. The musician was mistakenly identified as an organizer of the group Antifa, and claims began circulating on social media that Dessner was inciting violence at protests. But the musician was quick to squash the false reports and offered his support to those protesting police brutality.
A video circulated Sunday of a man in Columbus, Ohio appearing to direct protesters. The man in the video held a similar look to that of Dessner, and many began to call for his arrest.
lmao – the alt-right are now circulating images of who they believe to be “antifa organizers” that are just the indie rock band The National pic.twitter.com/tTUDWKKJII
— Cole Sansom, gnocchi enthusiast (@coolsandstorm) May 31, 2020
Addressing the claims in a post on social media, Dessner denied the reports and said he is isolating with his family in the rural countryside but ‘fully’ supports the protests:
“This morning I’ve woken up to the unpleasant and surprising news that I’ve been misindentified by some social media users as someone seen encouraging rioting in Columbus, Ohio — I am not the person some are suggesting I am. Nor have I been in Ohio since June 2019. However I do FULLY support peaceful protests and activism against endemic racism and racially motivated violence in this country, which somehow continues generation after generation after generation. Like so many, I’m hoping for peaceful resolution and actual progress addressing these persistent issues in our society.”
Read Dessner’s full response above.