False claim Georgia's Brad Raffensperger was arrested by military for treason | Fact check
Nate TrelaThe claim: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was arrested and charged with treason
A Dec. 18 post from Real Raw News claims a Georgia politician was arrested by the military.
“JAG Arrests Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger for Treason,” reads the headline.
The story states Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was arrested on Dec. 15 because he “buried" Republican votes for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The post was shared more than 150 times on Facebook in two days, according to the social media analytics tool CrowdTangle.
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Our rating: False
A top official in Georgia's secretary of state office said there is no truth to the claim. The report came from a website that routinely publishes fabricated stories about public figures being arrested.
Article latest in line of fabricated arrest stories
Gabriel Sterling, a top election official in Georgia's secretary of state office, sharply criticized Real Raw News and its story in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“This is the ridiculous crap we have to deal with every day,” he wrote in a Dec. 18 X post, linking to the article. “Knock it off. Join us in the reality of actual life. These grifters are just taking advantage of people.”
Raffensperger’s office declined to comment further. While he did not have any public events between Dec. 15 and 20, Raffensperger did post to X on Dec. 17 about bomb threats to synagogues in Roswell, Georgia.
There are no reports by reputable news sources or on the Department of Defense website about Raffensberger being arrested.
The Real Raw News story claims the arrest was made by investigators from the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, or JAG. The corps is a group of lawyers that advises on “national security law, military justice, administrative law, and Sailor and family legal support,” according to its website. It does not conduct civilian arrests.
Fact check: No, court-martial rules were not recently changed to include civilians
Real Raw News is a serial spreader of misinformation that often publishes fabricated stories about "white hats" trying to undermine "the deep state" by arresting government officials. USA TODAY has previously debunked numerous other claims about the arrests of high-profile figures stemming from Real Raw News.
USA TODAY reached out to Real Raw News for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
Gabriel Sterling, Dec. 18, Post on X
Brad Raffensperger, Dec. 17, Post on X
Navy JAG Corps, accessed Dec. 19, Home
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