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Fact check: Fake tweet claims Nancy Pelosi accused ‘White Nationalists’ of vandalism
Devon Link, USA TODAYJanuary 6, 2021·3 min read
The claim: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted ‘White Nationalists’ vandalized her San Francisco home
The image, which was posted by Facebook user Les Roediger on Jan. 2, appears to show the speaker tweeted the message at 7:56 p.m. Jan. 1. The image shows the tweet received 519 retweets and 4,000 likes, yet there is no record the speaker ever shared this message.
“Nancy Pelosi said she was attacked by White Nationalists!” Roediger captioned the altered image. “I’m certain there were arrests and evidence, otherwise it’s just feelings, right? #Antifa.”
After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home was vandalized in the early hours of the new year, a fake tweet denouncing those responsible began circulating online.
“What happened to our home was a travesty and a desperate attempt by White Nationalists to bully me,” reads the image, which appears to capture a tweet from Pelosi.
The image, which was posted by Facebook user Les Roediger on Jan. 2, appears to show the speaker tweeted the message at 7:56 p.m. Jan. 1. The image shows the tweet received 519 retweets and 4,000 likes, yet there is no record the speaker ever shared this message.
“Nancy Pelosi said she was attacked by White Nationalists!” Roediger captioned the altered image. “I’m certain there were arrests and evidence, otherwise it’s just feelings, right? #Antifa.”
Roediger, whose Facebook bio claims he’s the “Vice President-Elect of the United States #TrumpRoediger2020”, has not responded to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
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Speaker’s office confirms tweet is fake
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, wrote that the tweet was “fake” and confirmed that Pelosi has not publicly accused “White Nationalists” of the vandalism in an email to USA TODAY.
“The tweet is fake,” wrote Hammill. “We have made no public comment on this matter.”
USA TODAY could find no record of the tweet on the speaker’s Twitter timeline or of any tweet regarding the vandalism.
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Les Roediger is known in the Topeka Kansas area not just as a failed and washed up wanna-be “rock Star”, but also as attaching himself to right wing ‘conservative” political; figures such as Kris Kobach, for whom he has helped organize rallies that included NRA figures and Ted Nugent (He incurred the wrath of Nugent fans when the aging rocker did not perform, only spoke on a panel after Roediger deliberately mislead ticket buyers that Nugent and his band would be performing, he then refused to refund tickets. Roediger has claimed to be the head of “Kansans For kobach” the campaign organ for kris kobach who ran up millions in legal bills insisting that “Hundreds of thousands” of illegal immigrants where voting in Kansas elections, and after spending millions and ignoring his main job, Kobach was only able to find less than a dozen illegal voters: All white, all republicans.
Reports confirm Pelosi’s home was vandalized
Vandals defaced Pelosi’s home around 2 a.m. Jan. 1, reportedly leaving messages like “$2k,” “Cancel Rent!” and “We want everything” on her garage door and placing a pig’s head and fake blood on the sidewalk outside the house.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Louisville, Kentucky, home was also vandalized after Congress adjourned Friday without a final decision on $2,000 stimulus checks.
USA TODAY reported Jan. 2 that police had no suspects in the investigations.
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Our ruling: False
We rate the claim that Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted that white nationalists vandalized her home FALSE. Pelosi’s office and her Twitter timeline confirm the speaker never posted such a tweet.
Our fact-check sources:
- USA TODAY, Jan. 2, “Pelosi, McConnell homes vandalized after Congress adjourns without securing $2,000 stimulus checks“
- USA TODAY, Jan. 4, Email with Drew Hammill, Deputy Chief of Staff at Office of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accessed Jan. 4, Twitter timeline
- ABC 7, Jan. 2, “Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home vandalized overnight on New Year’s Day“
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fake Nancy Pelosi tweet lays blame for vandalism
