Fact Check: Were the South Carolina children stopped from choir singing national anthem? Truth debunked

A video of a South Carolina children's choir being abruptly stopped by police while they were performing the national anthem in the US Capitol has gone viral online. The incident occurred on May 26 when the Capitol Police halted the kids from Greenville's Rushingbrook Children’s Choir due to a miscommunication.

In the viral video, the kids are seen finishing the first verse of the national anthem as the people surrounding them applauded their performance. However, as soon as South Carolina kids start another verse, a Capitol officer can be seen speaking with the Choir director Micah Rea and another man. Seconds later, a man can be seen approaching Choir director David Rasbach asking them to stop singing.

As per The Associated Press News, Rasbach told the publication:

“When they stopped us and I walked over to the Capitol Police I said, ‘Why are you stopping us?’ They said, ‘Because this is considered a demonstration and we don’t allow demonstrations in the Capitol.’”

Musical activities in the halls of the US Capitol need authorization, and police stated they were unaware that the choir had received clearance from the House speaker. The Capitol Police Department denied the allegations that the South Carolina kids' performance was stopped because it may be deemed offensive.

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Choir directors for the South Carolina group claim that their performance was halted because it could be seen as "offensive"

While speaking with AP, choir directors Rasbach and Rea revealed that they had gotten permission from the offices of the South Carolina Reps. Joe Wilson, Russell Fry, and William Timmons for the performance at the Capitol.

According to their information, the visit was authorized by the office of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California.

Following a picture stop in Wilson's office, the company had a tour of the Capitol, ending at Statuary Hall, which is famed for housing a collection of sculptures contributed by each of the 50 states.

This is where the choir started to perform. Rasbach and Rea said a tourist guide questioned whether they had the authorization for the event and told them they could start singing after he consulted with someone else.

According to Rasbach, a Capitol Police officer allegedly expressed concerns about offending people, although he was unable to provide any further details or substantiate the claim with a name.

The claims made by Rasbach were criticized by politician Marjorie Taylor Greene who said that the performance by the South Carolina kids' was "not offensive" and "it's needed more."

In a statement addressing the incident, the Capitol Police spoke about the claims that the South Carolina's kids' choir performance was halted because it could be offensive to some people.

“Recently somebody posted a video of a children’s choir singing the Star-Spangled Banner in the U.S. Capitol Building and wrongfully claimed we stopped the performance because it ‘might offend someone.’ Here is the truth. Demonstrations and musical performances are not allowed in the U.S. Capitol. Of course, because the singers in this situation were children, our officers were reasonable and allowed the children to finish their beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner."

While speaking to AP News, the South Carolina representatives confirmed the fact that the Speaker's office were aware and had invited the choir to the building "to joyfully express their love of this Nation while visiting the Capitol," and were disappointed to learn that their performance was cut short due to miscommunication.