Post claiming 3 jurors in Trump’s trial were arrested is false
No evidence or credible reports to back the claim
CLAIM
An article published in early June by the online platform Real Raw News and reshared by a pro-Trump social media account claimed that three of the 12 jurors in the former U.S. president’s trial were arrested.
BACKGROUND
A New York jury found former U.S. President Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money scheme in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
The former president was convicted of falsifying documents related to a payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
His sentence will not be known until July 11, giving Trump time to appeal the conviction. The judge in the case ordered the parties to file motions by June 13. In the meantime, Trump is still campaigning for his presidential bid.
After his conviction was handed down, a Facebook post shared on Tuesday, June 4, said, “They are dropping like flies. Go get them JAG White Hats arrest 3 of the 12 Deep State Jurors who unlawfully found Pres Trump guilty on 34 counts.”
A social media user replied to the post, saying the information had been seen on Real Raw News.
The article was published on the same day, claiming three jurors, two men and a woman, had been arrested, citing an unnamed source at the office of U.S. Marine Corps General Eric M. Smith.
The source was cited as saying that the identities of the jurors would only be released once all 12 of them had been convicted of treason.
The website said the operation was carried out by “U.S. Marines and a Special Forces detachment from Fort Liberty” late on Saturday.
The article claimed the arrests were made by “White Hats”, a term used in reference to government and military officials who support Trump, according to the website Anti-Defamation League, self-described as an anti-hate organisation.
Real Raw News describes itself as containing “humor, parody, and satire” in response to fact-checkers that questioned the accuracy of its content.
METHOD
A link shared by a social media user led to an article reporting on the alleged arrests. Research across the U.S. Department of Defense platforms did not return any results on the said operation.
Moreover, the identities of the jurors are only known to Trump and lawyers from both sides of the trial, according to a court decision and order.
RATING
There is no evidence or credible reports to back the claim that jurors in Trump’s trial were arrested.
SOURCES
Supreme Court of the State of New York (2024) – Decision and order regulating disclosure of juror information
Raw News Website (2024) – White Hats Arrest Three of the Twelve Deep State Jurors Who Unlawfully Found President Trump Guilty
Facebook (2024) Available at Billy-Jo Bentley [Accessed Jun 11, 2024].
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