In today’s world, where social media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion, it’s unfortunate that every day, some individuals with ulterior motives make it their mission to smear the image of Hindus and India. On April 26th, 2023, a video went viral on social media that was quickly picked up by some Hinduphobic Twitter users. The video shows a violent altercation between several individuals, but the identity of the attackers and the motive behind the attack is unclear. Despite this, the Twitter user named Bob Vageneakar shared the viral video and claimed that two Hindu extremists in America attacked a Black man with weapons and that both were subsequently arrested and being investigated for a hate crime.
In a disturbing trend of spreading misinformation and hate on social media, another Hinduphobic Twitter user by the name of Sam Khan quoted Bob Vageneakar’s tweet about an altercation involving several individuals and claimed two “mob lynchers” with sticks were unable to defeat a single Black man outside of India.
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Fact Check
Our investigation into the viral video that allegedly showed two Hindu extremists attacking a Black man with weapons has revealed a shocking truth. Through a reverse video search, we found a YouTube video that was posted on March 2, 2015, on the WISN 12 News channel. This video featured the same visuals as the viral video but with a completely different context. According to the video, the violent confrontation actually started when the suspect, Dominick Smith, tried to steal some candies from a convenience store.
When two store clerks, Rajpal Singh and Vishal, accused Smith of shoplifting, he responded by throwing the candy on the floor. Moments later, the clerks armed themselves with a bat and stick and followed Smith outside the store. As they tried to apprehend him, Smith grabbed the bat and struck one of the clerks on the head, causing him to fall unconscious. Rajpal singh who first confronted Smith suffered a “skull fracture and possible bleeding on the brain.” The co-worker Vishal also suffered a “head wound requiring 15 stitches” on the back of his head and another four stitches to close another head wound.
Next, we conducted keyword research with the words “Dominick Smith charged with gas station beating” and stumbled upon a report by FOX6 Now published on February 27, 2015. The visuals shown in the report were the same as in the viral video that went viral recently. According to the report, one clerk saw Smith shoplift candies and tried to stop him while armed with a Taser and a stick. Smith, in response, threw the candy packages on the ground and started yelling at the clerk. Moments later, the clerk and a co-worker armed with a bat and stick, followed Smith outside the store to get him away from the premises. In the ensuing altercation, Smith grabbed the bat and hit the clerk, knocking him unconscious for a few seconds. Both the clerk and the co-worker suffered injuries in the exchange.
Moreover, the report further revealed that Smith was charged with two counts of felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Furthermore, our investigation led us to yet another report by FOX6 Now from July 8, 2015. This report revealed that Dominick Smith, who was charged with the gas station beating, had been sentenced to 36 months in prison and 48 months of extended supervision. Smith had pleaded guilty to two felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety in connection with the beating of a couple of gas station clerks near 49th and Lisbon on Milwaukee’s north side. In addition to his prison sentence, Smith was ordered to pay more than $14,000 in restitution and more than $3,000 to the Crime Victim Compensation Program.
In conclusion, our investigation into the viral video of the gas station beating incident revealed that the video is 8 years old and it had nothing to do with Hindu extremism, as claimed by some hinduphobic Twitter users. Instead, the incident was a result of a criminal act by Dominick Smith, who had pleaded guilty to two felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety in connection with the beating of two gas station clerks and was later sentenced to 36 months in prison and 48 months of extended supervision by the court.
| Claim | Two Hindu extremists in America attacked a Black man with weapons |
| Claimed by | Bob Vageneakar, Sam Khan, Guzaarish etc |
| Fact Check | False and Misleading |
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