It was a day like America had never known, when suddenly the unthinkable happened before the eyes of the entire planet. On January 6, 2021, several thousand supporters of Donald Trump, fired up for the past two months by the shameless lies of their candidate, stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to prevent the counting of the electoral votes, which was to complete Democrat Joe Biden's November 3, 2020 victory over their favored candidate.

The scene was so crazy that the line between fact and fiction blurred. And suddenly, on Twitter (not yet called X), a rumor spread at lightning speed. That guy with the red beard seen in two selfies: "I believe it is Chuck Norris," insisted a certain @Snarky__AF, among many others. Among the activists wearing baseball caps, beanies and scarves from the official store supporting the 45^th president of the United States, the man was sporting, along with the red beard, hair that could just as easily be a toupee (a rug, to put it vulgarly) and a bolo tie, a Texan tie consisting of a simple lace under a brooch, a favorite accessory of the actor from the series Walker, Texas Ranger.

A superstar among the rioters... unimaginable? Not really, because Chuck Norris isn't just anyone. A champion karate fighter and king of the "kick in the face," the actor had a successful career in American B-movies in the 1980s and earned worldwide fame with quips like "I'm going to hit you with so many rights, you're going to beg for a left." From lamenting the loss of moral values to his detestation of "Hillary" (Clinton), the actor regularly publishes posts on his blog that are entirely compatible with the convictions of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) base. A Baptist and unwavering supporter of Ronald Reagan and the Bushes, father and son, he shares Trump's strong convictions.

Karate champion

Alas, it was only a look-alike in the selfies. Once alerted, the actor's agent issued a denial, in which he saw fit to point out that his client was much better-looking than the pro-Trump activist for whom he had been mistaken. In turn, also on X (Twitter), the star denied his presence among the rioters and disavowed the attempted coup. For Norris, aka Cordell Walker, the vigilante viewers had enjoyed for years on TF1, "there is no room for violence of any kind in our society." As beautiful as an antique. The only hitch: The actor's entire filmography is a paroxysm of violence, presented as the solution to all America's problems.

In the 1980s, Norris (who did not respond to requests for comment from Le Monde) was one of the stars of Cannon Films, the B-movie studio that fully exploited the vein of strong opinions, virility, xenophobia and fighting as the only means of resolution. Clear-headed about the limits of his acting skills, Norris has always claimed to put his art at the service of what he considers the noblest of causes: providing young people with role models.

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