Rumours that anti-fascist protesters planned to burn American flags on the Gettysburg Civil War battleground site led to armed far-right groups turning up in numbers on US Independence Day. Posts on social media by supposed antifa leaders urged members to meet at the Pennsylvania site on 4 July.

In response, far-right groups assembled on the historic grounds on Saturday – but no adversaries showed up. The holiday marks the US declaration of independence from Britain in 1776. The posts that appeared on social media ahead of the Independence Day celebrations reportedly called for people to flock to the site in face paint. Activists would “be giving away free small flags to children to safely throw into the fire”, the hoax call suggested. “Let’s get together and burn flags in protest of thugs and animals in blue,” one anonymous Facebook post said.(BBC)…[+]