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Fact Check: Did Harris-Walz Campaign 'Stage' Pennsylvania Restaurant Photo Op with 'Paid Actors'?
By Jordan Liles,
7 hours ago
A rumor circulating online during the U.S. presidential election in mid-August 2024 claimed the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign "kicked out" diners eating at the popular sandwich shop Primanti Bros. in Moon Township, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to have a "staged" photo op involving "paid actors," who the campaign allegedly transported to the establishment in white vans visible in videos shared on social media. We received reader mail asking about this matter.
In our research and correspondence with sources described throughout this article, we learned the Harris-Walz campaign or someone else reserved the restaurant for the evening of Aug. 18, 2024. Reporting published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette before the campaign motorcade's arrival described the upcoming stop as a "private party." The reporting quoted a "SWAT member" on-site who said that, following the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump in nearby Butler, Secret Service personnel locked down the site, moved all cars away and "vetted" people entering the building.
We also learned more about the aforementioned white vans and have yet to find any credible evidence of involvement from "paid actors." Even so, we noted some reporting in online articles simply referring to the people seated at tables as "diners" as well as some of Harris' own social media posts not providing context about a photo taken inside the restaurant, as if the photo op occurred organically.
To start our investigation, we contacted the headquarters for Primanti Bros. by phone, email, Messenger and X but did not receive any responses. The company also did not post on its Facebook, Instagram or X accounts in the days following the campaign stop. We also reached out to the U.S. Secret Service, numerous officials associated with the Harris-Walz campaign and reporters who were part of the press pool at the restaurant.
Secret Service spokesperson Alexi Worley told Snopes by phone that the white vans were part of the Secret Service's motorcade, "transporting members of the campaign staff and press." As for the people seated inside the restaurant, campaign spokesperson Daniel Wessel told us via email, "I can confirm it was a volunteer appreciation event." Further, a local reporter who was on the scene also provided similar details, which we will go into later in this story.
Popular Posts Promoting the Rumor
Users began spreading this rumor on X at the end of a day filled with stops in the battleground state, in which U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz traveled together on a campaign bus to several locations, including meeting with volunteers at a campaign office, greeting firefighters at a firehouse and visiting with members of a high school football team.
For example, one user's popular post on X ( archived ) claimed that "every single customer was kicked out and replaced with actors," while another person's similarly popular post ( archived ) read, "Trump supporters and paying customers were kicked out of a restaurant to make room for Kamala 'supporters.'"
These and several other prominent posts featured a video of Trump supporters shouting at the Harris-Walz motorcade as it arrived at the restaurant. One person in the video ( archived ) shouted, "They kicked us out of Primanti Bros. because they said it was a private event!" This mention of a "private event" aligned with other information we located in our research. Another person said, "They kicked us out of Primanti Bros. so that they could get the paid actors inside."
A different user's post ( archived ) featured a second video recorded from the same location showing another campaign bus and numerous dark SUVs, and also a photo of an empty parking lot at the restaurant.
Eyewitness Insight and White Vans
Ryan Deto, a reporter for the western Pennsylvania publication TribLIVE.com , who was at the restaurant that day, told us in an email, "The people inside the restaurant were campaign volunteers who were there to meet with Harris, Walz and their spouses." He added he believed this campaign-volunteer aspect was "evident" to him upon his and the rest of the press pool's arrival at the restaurant, which occurred in the white vans mentioned in posts promoting the rumor.
Again, Worley, the Secret Service spokesperson, also told us by phone that the white vans were part of the Secret Service's motorcade, "transporting members of the campaign staff and press."
At least four journalists posted photos taken from the white vans showing the same group of Trump supporters visible in the popular videos on X. Deto was one of those journalists:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Reports in Advance About 'Private Party'
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported at 5:12 p.m. EDT, 90 minutes before the campaign motorcade's arrival at the restaurant, "Allegheny County's SWAT team stood guard outside of a Moon Township Primanti Bros. ahead of a 'private party' scheduled for 4 p.m. that was rumored to include Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz."
The reporting from 5:12 p.m. also added, "According to another SWAT member, the Secret Service, under scrutiny since the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, is locking down the site well in advance of Ms. Harris' arrival, moving all cars out of the lot and only allowing people who've been vetted inside the building."
Syndicated AP Story Simply Called Supporters 'Diners'
Even with all of this information, we noted some online articles reporting on the campaign stop still referred to the people seated at restaurant tables, either within their stories or photo captions, simply as "diners," as if the event were organic. The people attending the private function were dining but the context of their visit constitutes more than such a word.
For example, The Associated Press called the people seated at tables "diners," with a later part in the story also mentioning the importance of "[scoring] face time with voters in small venues like diners and mom-and-pop shops." An AP photo caption also referred to them as "customers."
Similarly, Harris' Facebook and Instagram pages each featured a post including photo of her shaking a person's hand inside the restaurant, with no mention of the gathering involving campaign volunteers or a private party. A separate post on her Facebook page did mention volunteers but did not show a picture of the Primanti Bros. visit.
Samuel DeMarco III, a Republican serving as at-large council representative for Allegheny County who appeared to often share his support of Trump, posted ( archived ) later in the day, "Hey, let's all cut [Primanti Bros.] a break regarding their asking customers to leave to prepare for the Kamala Harris photo-op. Oftentimes campaigns rent out a place of business for a private party or particular event. Perhaps that's what happened here? Anyway, I like a good Primanti's Bros 'hot & cheese' sandwich so let's cut them a break."
DeMarco had posted ( archived ) earlier in the day about the campaign stop, sharing the video reposted by many other users.
Video and Photos Captured Inside the Restaurant
In Fox News ' reporting of the Harris-Walz bus tour's stop at Primanti Bros., a reporter interviewed a patron who said the restaurant's bartender announced "last call" at 3:30 p.m. due to a "private event" starting "at the top of the hour." The article also mentioned restaurant staff or someone else turned televisions off, seeing as they were closing soon.
The Dallas TV station WFAA posted raw footage on YouTube credited to ABC News, showing Harris, Walz and second gentleman Doug Emhoff walking from table to table. At the 4:07 mark in the video, the videographer follows instructions for members of the press to move left and around the empty and closed bar area to find a better vantage and to allow the candidates space to greet people seated at the tables.
In the video, just as the Fox News story mentioned, all visible televisions appear off in the empty bar area and the rest of the restaurant, as one might see at other private events held inside bars and restaurants. In other words, people seated at tables occupied a specific section of the closed restaurant, all in view of the press pool, which featured local and national reporters and photojournalists.
Kunal Atit, whose X bio mentioned he's the Pennsylvania deputy campaign manager for Harris, posted ( archived ) a photo showing Harris greeting people at tables. Again, all visible televisions were turned off. On the far left side of Atit's picture, a person in the background can be seen wearing a "Kamala" hat.
As the ABC News footage and Atit photo both showed, some of the people seated at the tables appeared to dress for the occasion of meeting Harris and Walz, in blazers, dress shirts and at least one woman wearing a blue dress. Other people wore more casual attire.
We will update this story if we receive further details or correspondence regarding this rumor.
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