In early June 2025, amid protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles, a claim (archived) circulated online that
In a video accompanying the claims, a person social media users identified as Russell — the son of actors Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn who appeared in the 2025 Marvel movie "Thunderbolts*" — said in part:
You feel tough with your assault rifles and your sticks. You should be standing here with us. You're on the wrong side of history. We know you got a job to do, but you took an oath to the Constitution, not to the fascists in the White House.
One person shared the following post on X (archived):
(X account @lesleyabravanel)
The claim circulated elsewhere on (archived) X (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes readers also searched our website to find out whether the claim was true.
However, the footage was miscaptioned. While the video was authentic, meaning it was not the product of artificial intelligence software or other digital manipulation, Wyatt Russell was not the person in it. Snopes confirmed the protester in the video is actually a man named Aaron Fisher.
A spokesperson for Russell told The Independent, "This is indeed NOT Wyatt Russell, and we have been working to try and correct the mis-identification." A representative for Russell also confirmed the misidentification to Entertainment Weekly.
Snopes reached out to a representative for Russell for comment on the misidentification and will update this article if we receive a response.
In a post (archived) on June 9, 2025, an X user said they confirmed that the protester was not Russell but Fisher:
I have personally confirmed that this very awesome protester from the Los Angeles protests yesterday is NOT Wyatt Russell. His name is Aaron Fisher (@aaronfisher89). As he told me: "It's the message that's important though, not the messenger!" pic.twitter.com/EPpNVBGvKU
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) June 9, 2025
Snopes reached out to Fisher, who confirmed to us that he is the person who appeared in the video. He provided the following statement via email:
I found the mixup to be pretty humorous, and glad it helped to amplify the message. The proliferation of the words themselves, and the movement behind it, is what matters most. The deployment of the National Guard against the wishes of our Governor is dangerously un-American, and I will continue to peacefully protest in my community.