Fact check: False YouTube video promises $10,000 to 'detain' Pope Francis

Bayliss Wagner, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: An international court issued an arrest warrant for Pope Francis

In a viral YouTube video circulating on Facebook and Twitter, a man with a brown suit jacket, wire-frame glasses and a neat, gray mustache emerges from behind the camera and takes a seat.

“Hello, this is Kevin Annett Eagle Strongvoice and it’s November the first," he says. "I’ve just received a breaking news announcement."

An arrest warrant for Pope Francis was issued by the "International Common Law Court of Justice," Annett says in the Oct. 31 video, which accumulated more than 135,000 views within one week. He claims the court is promising amnesty and a $10,000 reward to anyone who can find and detain the pope.

The supposed warrant charges the pope with "personal complicity in child rape, torture and trafficking, ritual killing ... and other crimes perpetrated by the Church of Rome."

But trying to “detain” the pope will not earn a $10,000 reward. The International Common Law Court of Justice does not exist.

No warrant for pope's arrest

The purported arrest warrant for the pope isn't real because the court supposedly issuing it isn't real.

In the video, the only evidence Annett provides to substantiate his claims is his own website. In an email, Annett said warrants are not typically found anywhere except the court from which they are issued.

The U.S. Justice Department keeps a list of the few courts that have international jurisdiction. The "International Common Law Court of Justice" is not one of them.

Annett, a former minister who was removed from the United Church of Canada in 1997, has previously spread false claims related to the made-up court.

Fact check: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip not involved in disappearance of Canadian children

In July, USA TODAY rated false a claim that the International Common Law Court of Justice had found Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip guilty for crimes related to the disappearance of 10 Indigenous children in Canada.

No credible sources have reported there's a warrant for the pope's arrest.

Since the YouTube video was published, Pope Francis has continued to be seen in public and participate in public events. For example, on Nov. 2, he visited the French Military Graveyard in Rome and delivered a homily, Vatican News reported.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that an international court issued an arrest warrant for Pope Francis. The court supposedly issuing this arrest warrant has no international jurisdiction. No credible sources have reported on an arrest warrant for the pope.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False YouTube video promises $10K to 'detain' Pope Francis

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