Fact Check: NC's Moore claims 2020 protests in Raleigh turned deadly

It's time for a fact-check of North Carolina politics. This week, we're looking at claims made by North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore related to protests in Raleigh in 2020 following the death of George Floyd.

Marshall Terry: Here's Moore speaking on the Tying It Together podcast with Tim Boyum on Feb. 7:

North Carolina General Assembly

(Tim Moore): "We saw the riots that happened just, just blocks from this building a few years ago where people were injured. Uh, I think was someone was actually shot and killed."

Terry: Moore made a similar claim about a person being killed during two legislative committee meetings the next day. To find out if it's true, we turn now to Paul Specht of WRAL. OK, Paul, before we get to Tim Moore's claim, give us some context here. Why was Moore bringing up the 2020 George Floyd protests now?

Specht: Well, that's because Speaker Moore has a bill that would enforce new, tougher penalties for anyone who participates in a riot and specifically causes more than $1,500 worth of property damage, or injuries or kills anyone. All that would be a felony under his bill. It has some other things, too, like giving property owners the right to sue the people who damage their property during a riot. It's quite unusual, actually, for the House speaker himself to be presenting bills in committees like he's been doing. That sort of shows how much he wants it to pass.

Terry: So is it true what Moore said? Was someone killed during the protests in Raleigh?

Specht: You know, that really stood out to us because WRAL covered, I think, every protest there was. And I could not find a headline or any sort of report of anyone being shot or dying. So we reached out to the Raleigh police. And they actually wrote a report that summarized all the charges they had filed during those 2020 protests and all the injuries that were sustained. And we found no evidence that anyone was shot or killed. And the Raleigh Police Department confirmed that. They said we don't have documentation either. So, no, we have no evidence that someone was shot and killed during those protests.

Terry: So what was Moore referring to?

Specht: Well, we reached out to his office and asked, you know, hey, where are you getting this information? Who are you referring to that died in Raleigh? And his office said that Moore was speaking broadly. They said it wasn't just about Raleigh, it was about the deaths that were counted nationally. And they said that there were in total, 19 people who died amid those 2020 protests.

Terry: Well, is that true? Were there 19 deaths overall during the protests that occurred around the country?

Specht: Well, Forbes magazine counted 19 back in 2020. And they have a list, and we link to that in our story. And it came out right after the protest. However, in the days and weeks following that, The Washington Post did a little more digging and found that there were some extenuating circumstances to a lot of those deaths that make the 19 number seem maybe high. You could fairly say that there were 19 deaths in and around the protests, but very few, the Washington Post found, were actually committed or caused by protesters. I can think of one example in California where there was a security officer who was shot and killed by someone who was not part of the protest. In fact, he used the protest as cover to go commit this crime, according to the prosecutors out there. And so is it linked? One could argue that, but the protest didn't necessarily cause that. So all that is to say the number 19, isn't firm.

Terry: Well, going back to the bill for a second -- what is the latest with that bill that, that Moore is pushing?

Specht: Well, the House passed it. It's now going to the Senate, where Republicans now have a supermajority. That means they can pass it without any help from Democrats at all. Once that happens, it's going to go to Gov. Cooper's desk. He is expected to veto it because Speaker Moore brought up a very similar -- if not identical -- bill two years ago that Cooper vetoed. Well, he's probably going to veto it again, and it's going to go back to the legislature. And then the legislature, this time, is expected to push it through and override that veto, because the Republicans made gains in the midterm elections. They're now only one Democratic vote away from being able to override Cooper's vetoes. Well, this particular bill, H.B. 40, is sponsored by a Democrat, and so people expect this to get pushed through and become law at some point.

Terry: Is the fear that without this bill cities can turn into what happens in Portland, Oregon -- where the George Floyd protests were more violent and lasted much longer?

Specht: That's sort of what Speaker Moore has talked about when he's gone to these committees, and talked about the need for this bill is, if you hear him talk about it, you know, he'll say, hey, lots of businesses were damaged and people weren't held accountable. Now, the city of Raleigh has a report on all the charges it made for larceny, for property damage, for things like that. But it's unclear if everyone responsible was held accountable. And so I think that's the goal is to try to deter that kind of violence.

Terry: So how did you rate these claims by Speaker Tim Moore?

Specht: We rated him false. And that's because he said one person died, when he said that, while he was talking about the Raleigh protests -- that's not true. No one died in the protests in Raleigh. But his office said that 19 people died across the country, and even that number is pretty squishy. Want to look into the circumstances of each of those deaths. So, uh, we gave him a straight false.

Terry: All right, Paul, thank you.

Specht: Thank you.