Did the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps execute World Health Organization official Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is "false." The claim appeared in an article on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content.
The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on February 10, 2024, titled "JAG Hangs WHO Despot" (archived here), that opened:
Last week, the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps executed the WHO official who had surreptitiously entered the United States to discuss enacting fresh shelter-in-place and vaccine mandates with the CDC's nefarious Rapid Response Team, GITMO sources told Real Raw News.
Dr. Chickwe Ihekweazu's hanging took place on February 3, a day late, before a cadre of military brass and two unnamed conservative politicians who had arrived at Guantanamo Bay the previous day. As is typical for GITMO proceedings, Vice Adm. Darse E. Crandall oversaw Dr. Ihekweazu's demise and had seemed stoically unemotional when two MPs in a hummer stopped at the foot of the gallows and dragged an impenitent Chickwe kicking and screaming from the vehicle. Ihekweazu's cacophony of deceptive protestations echoed the sentiments of dozens of other despotic Deep Staters.
The claim that Ihekweazu was executed on February 3, 2024, followed earlier Real Raw News false claims that Ihekweazu had been arrested and then convicted. In a December 27, 2023, fact check and a February 1, 2024, fact check, Lead Stories debunked the arrest and conviction claims.
Pentagon duty officers responded to an inquiry from Lead Stories regarding the claim of execution, writing in email on February 15, 2024:
This is false.
As seen in the screenshot below, Ihekweazu was active on his official X, formerly known as Twitter, account on February 15, 2024, five days following the publication of the article claiming he had been hanged. He uploaded a post (archived here) that did not mention an arrest, conviction or execution.
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Feb 16 01:33:52 2023 UTC)
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.
