Did a colonel named "Gary" of the "People's Militia of Alabama" detain two full busses of illegals at the border who were trying to vote in the U.S. midterm elections? No, that's not true: the claim was made by a recently renamed twitter account using old photographs of a protest as "proof". It is not true.
The story originated from a tweet published on November 6, 2018 by a Twitter user calling himself "Col. Gary" (archived here) which looked like this:
My Militia is also along the border making stops. We've already detained two full busses of illegals trying to vote. #redwave #Elections2018 pic.twitter.com/Adh0ON89vg
-- Col. Gary (@ItMeDoge) 6 november 2018
However other Twitter users were quick to point out that the picture used to illustrate the tweet actually came from a 2014 protest:
Protests turn back buses carrying illegal immigrant children
Homeland Security buses carrying migrant children and families were rerouted Tuesday to a facility in San Diego after American flag-waving protesters blocked the group from reaching a suburban processing center.
The image used as the avatar of the Twitter account appears to be of someone named "Rick Light" from a Texas-based militia group:
Rebuttal of Rick Light Texas State Militia Commander
Shown above is Rick Light Texas State Militia Commander
The Twitter account @ItMeDoge that posted the tweet appears to have recently changed its name and bio. Right now it says "Col. Gary" and it has following bio:
Colonel of the People's Militia of Alabama. Proudly protecting liberty from mass immigration of illegals, murderers, and drug dealers.
But as recently as September 13, 2008 (archived link) the name listed on the profile was just "Dogeâ„¢" with a bio that read "Never Tweet".
It appears the whole thing is just a giant troll, as this tweet (archived version) seems to suggest:
What's funnier?
-- Col. Gary (@ItMeDoge) 6 november 2018
Folks that:
