Did U.S. Marines arrest Rear Adm. Michael Platt, Coast Guard officer and military adviser to the Department of Homeland Security, in February 2024? No, that's not true: This claim appeared on a website that publishes fabricated content. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security representative told Lead Stories this claim is "inaccurate."
The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on February 18, 2024, titled "Marines Arrest 'Black Hat' Officer/DHS Advisor" (archived here), which began:
U.S. Marines in Eagle Pass last week arrested Coast Guard officer and Military Advisor to the Department of Homeland Security Rear Admiral Michael Platt on charges of treason, sedition, and aiding and abetting the enemy, a source in General Smith's office told Real Raw News.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Marines Arrest "Black Hat" Officer/DHS Advisor
U.S. Marines in Eagle Pass last week arrested Coast Guard officer and Military Advisor to the Department of Homeland Security Rear Admiral Michael Platt on charges of treason, sedition, and aiding and abetting the enemy, a source in General Smith's office told Real Raw News.
In response to an inquiry from Lead Stories, Erin Heeter, the assistant press secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, wrote via email on March 1, 2024:
This [claim] is inaccurate.
A Google News search (archived here) using the keywords "United States Marines" AND "Arrest" AND "Rear Admiral Michael Platt" AND "February 2024" produced no results to substantiate this claim.
Lead Stories reached out to the Office of the Secretary of Defense regarding the claim and will update this fact check if a response is received.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks mentioning the U.S. Marines Corps and Real Raw News can be found here.
Real Raw News
Real Raw News has a long history of publishing false claims in mock news stories, many of them about convictions and executions of various public figures at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. For example, the site reported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hanged (she wasn't); former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was executed (he wasn't); and "the military" convicted former Attorney General William Barr on charges of treason (it didn't).
The website for Real Raw News includes a disclaimer that declares the site does not stand by the contents of the stories, calling them entertainment. Specifically, it says:
Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. ... We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel.
(Source: RealRawNews.com screenshot taken Tue Aug 3 16:39:48 UTC 2021)
Lead Stories has covered claims published by Real Raw News in the past. Previous Lead Stories debunks of Real Raw News items are collected here.
