Fact Check: Did Rep Jared Moskowitz wear 'Justice for Cricket' pin as he questioned Kristi Noem?
WASHINGTON, DC: The House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on Wednesday, March 4, titled 'Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security,' where former Secretary Kristi Noem testified and faced questions from members of both parties.
Following this, a rumor circulated online claiming that Rep Jared Moskowitz wore a pin that read 'Justice for Cricket', in reference to a dog Noem said she shot in her 2024 autobiography. But is there any truth to the viral claim? Let us find out below.
Claim: Rep Jared Moskowitz wore 'Justice for Cricket' pin as he questioned Kristi Noem
An X user shared a post that read, "Rep Jared Moskowitz wore 'Justice for Cricket' pin as he questioned Kristi Noem. Cricket is the 14-month-old dog Noem described executing in her memoir."
The X post included a photograph of Moskowitz holding up documents, with the pin on his lapel. A similar post was shared by a different X user along with a different image of the Democratic Rep.
The caption of the X post read, "As he questions Kristi Noem, Rep Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) wears a 'Justice for Cricket' pin." The claim also appeared on a Facebook post that read, "Shout out to Moskowitz for showing up to question Kristi Noem wearing a 'Justice for Cricket' pin."
"How can we expect a puppy killer to treat immigrants, protesters, or everyday Americans with any humanity when she couldn’t even show basic decency to a 14-month-old dog?" the post further mentioned.
Fact Check: True, Jared Moskowitz wore 'Justice for Cricket' pin
The claim made in the online posts is true, as Rep Jared Moskowitz did wear a 'Justice for Cricket' pin as he questioned Kristi Noem. The authentic clips of the hearing show Moskowitz wearing the pin on the left chest of his coat.
Interestingly, in Chapter 6 of 'No Going Back', her autobiography, Noem discussed Cricket and wrote, "Cricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old, and she had come to us from a home that struggled with her aggressive personality. I was sure she'd learn a lot going out with our older dogs that day. I was wrong."
She then described taking her to a hunt with other dogs when Cricket ran ahead and 'flushed birds out of range'. Noem could not recall her as she wrote, "The hunt was ruined. I was livid."
During the oversight hearing, Democrats on the committee, led by Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), aggressively questioned Kristi Noem. They accused her of mismanaging DHS, turning it into a source of corruption and brutality, violating constitutional rights, and mishandling incidents like the Minneapolis shootings.
Meanwhile, Noem defended her actions, offered condolences to families, pushed back against 'falsehoods' or 'lies', and emphasized enforcement priorities, revetting processes from prior administrations.
