Chuck Norris is speaking out after a photo that appeared to show the actor in Capitol’s deadly riot last week went viral.
On Tuesday, the 80-year-old accessed Instagram and Twitter, where he addressed the rumor in a post.
“It came to my attention that unfortunately there was a Chuck Norris lookalike in the DC Capitol riots on January 6,” read the actor’s caption. “It wasn’t me and I wasn’t there. Let me make it clear that there is no room for violence of any kind in our society, including in the context of political protests.”
“A peaceful transition of power is fundamental to our democratic system of government,” shared Norris. “I am and always will be by Law and Order. Your friend, Chuck Norris.”
A representative for Chuck Norris told Fox News that the martial artist and actor was not in the Capitol riot last week.
(Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty Images)
A photo that appeared to show the martial artist taking a selfie with a Trump supporter in Washington, DC started circulating on Twitter, suggesting that Norris attended. The photo was apparently taken before the violent uprising in the Capitol building began.
According to People magazine, the Trump supporter who poses with the double was identified as Matthew Bledsoe, who put on the caption “Chuck Norris”.
On Tuesday, Norris’s manager Erik Kritzer told Fox News that the man in question is not the action star.
“This is not Chuck Norris and is an aspiring look-alike, although Chuck is much more handsome,” wrote Kritzer. “Chuck remains at his ranch in Texas, where he was with his family.”
On January 6, supporters of President Trump gathered at a demonstration in Washington, DC, which led to a rebellion in which hundreds of people breached the security of the U.S. Capitol building while the Senate was voting to certify the votes of the Electoral College. President-elect Joe Biden.
Five people died as a result of the riot. In a statement, Capitol Police said more than 50 police officers from the department and the Metropolitan Police Department were injured. Several of them were “hospitalized with serious injuries”.
In 2017, Texas named Norris an honorary Texan – a fitting title for the former “Walker, Texas Ranger” star.
Norris has acted in many action and martial arts films over the decades, in addition to playing the title character of the TV series “Walker” from 1993 to 2001.
Chuck Norris as Cordell Walker in “Walker, Texas Ranger” in 1995.
(CBS via Getty Images)
Norris was born in Oklahoma, but lived in Texas. A conservative Christian, he campaigned for some of the state’s top Republicans, including U.S. Senator Ted Cruz during his run for the White House and with Governor Greg Abbott in 2014.
For more than a decade, Norris has been the center of popular online jokes and memes, giving him superhuman strength and impossible deeds.
Norris is a longtime Republican and supported Trump during the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton. However, People magazine noted that Norris did not publicly share his endorsement for the 2020 elections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.