No, protesters didn’t storm the Georgia and Kansas capitol buildings

As a mob breached the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, when supporters of President Donald Trump gathered to protest the 2020 election results, claims of similar incidents started sprouting up elsewhere in the country. 

"Georgia and Kansas Capitol buildings have been stormed by protesters," one Facebook post read.  

It 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.)

Some national news organizations published reports that seemed to support this claim. Insider, for example, reported that "Pro-Trump rioters reportedly attempted to storm the Georgia Capitol" while New York magazine tweeted that in Kansas, "protesters breached the state house."

But news reports from people in those states haven’t illustrated a scene like the one we’ve seen unfolding in the nation’s capital.

Richard Fausset, a New York Times reporter based in Atlanta, tweeted in the afternoon that a "small MAGA crowd," some with assault rifles, had gathered at the Georgia Capitol. 

Stephen Fowler, a reporter for Georgia Public Broadcasting, tweeted that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff were removed from the Capitol as a precaution and that a "smaller group of protestors tried to get to his office and deliver ‘grievances.’"

"Georgia Gov. Brain Kemp is secure as well, with no issues at Cap," Fowler said.

A spokesperson for the secretary of state told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they "heard reports of threats and left immediately,"

The newspaper reported that police escorted Raffensperger and his staff out of the Capitol after "Trump supporters attempted to enter the building." 

This followed a small, peaceful "Stop the Steal" rally, according to the paper. 

ABC News reported that Raffensperger was escorted out "after protestors gathered near the parking deck." 

Fox New quoted him as saying, "We saw stuff happening at the Georgia Capitol and said, ‘We should not be around here, we should not be a spark.’"

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Alyssa Pointer, a photojournalist with the Journal-Constitution, tweeted a photo of Chester Doles and said Doles, "founder of the American Patriots USA and a former KKK leader, roams the #Georgia State Capitol building looking for the office of @GaSecofState Brad Raffensperger in #Atlanta, Wed., Jan. 6, 2021. Raffensperger was escorted out before the two could meet."

Pointer told us that Doles was in the building legally. She walked behind him while he and other demonstrators went through security with several state troopers looking on. Troopers were also positioned around the building as the group went to the second and third floors of the Capitol, she said.

In Kansas, a CBS News affiliate reported that a group of pro-Trump demonstators moved from outside the state’s capitol to inside the building, but they had a permit, went through security screenings and followed protocols. 

According to the Kansas Capitol Police, the group caused no problems.

"There was no breach," an NBC News affiliate in Topeka reported.

We rate this claim False. 

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