Fact Check: Are WWII veterans being hired to guard midterm ballots from Trump?
WASHINGTON, DC: As the midterm elections are less than a month away, a rumor is spreading on social media platforms claiming that a pro-democracy group is hiring World War II veterans to prevent President Donald Trump from trying to steal the ballots. The claim has sparked questions and speculation, with many calling for a fact-check.
Claim: WWII veterans to escort midterm ballots from being stolen
The claim surfaced as a viral X post, according to which, “A new pro-democracy group is reportedly hiring hundreds of WWII veterans who wouldn't mind one last opportunity to shoot fascists as armed escorts to accompany the transportation of all the states' midterm ballots in case Donald Trump's goons try to steal the ballots.”
The post has garnered thousands of views as of this writing, with netizens appearing to believe the claim is true, while a few others remained skeptical and questioned its authenticity.
Fact Check: The claim originated from a parody account
The claim, however, is false, as no reports suggest a group is hiring WWII veterans as armed escorts to accompany the transportation of midterm ballots.
Moreover, the claim was posted by a popular parody account on X called ‘The Halfway Post,’ which describes itself in the bio as ‘satire.’
If the claim were true, prominent news media outlets would have widely covered it, making headlines, but a search on Google and other search engines like Bing returned no credible reports, except for the social media posts sharing the claim.
Democrats warn of federal agents at polling stations
The claim surfaced after Democrats warned about the possibility of armed federal personnel being sent to polling locations.
The concerns came after Trump in May said he would do “anything necessary” to ensure fair elections, leaving open the possibility of sending federal agents to polling locations, but recently he said that he had not thought about deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) in the November elections.
The warning was rejected by Attorney General Todd Blanche, who called it false.
“I wish that the senators and the congressmen that are saying these fear-mongering, false statements would just not do that. It’s not fair to the American people,” Blanche said.
“President Trump is doing the same thing that every single administration has done in our administration,” Blanche said about the Justice Department’s plan to deploy 1,000 or more election monitors.
