Was a Craigslist ad offering "$1,000, paid in cryptocurrency" for "seat fillers" to attend a military parade in Washington, D.C. authentic? The listing attracted attention on social media when it appeared in the week leading up to a June 14, 2025, military parade. Here is what we know about it so far.
The ad (archived here) was published on June 10, 2025, on Craigslist, under the caption:
Seat Fillers Needed - June 14th - Constitution Avenue - DC.
The post continued:
T-Mellon Events is looking for seat fillers and extras to provide their time for space maximization and attendance perception for an event taking place in Washington DC on June 14th. Extras and Seat fillers will check in on the morning of June 14th at 9:00 a.m.
Extras are required to wear Red, White and Blue clothing and will be provided a RED hat to wear. GOLD accessories are acceptable as well. The team will advise the extras where to stand or sit according to the line of sight from a VIP viewing platform area.
Extras and Seat fillers will be paid a flat daily fee and will be provided a lunch of fast food and soda.
We encourage people of color and ethnic groups to sign up for maximum perception control and these individuals will be prominently displayed on the televised broadcast and local viewing screens to be seen by the VIP platform.
A sidebar read:
compensation: Flat Fee of $1,000, paid in cryptocurrency - Provided by FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT LLC.
This is what the entry looked like on Craigslist at the time of writing:
(Source: Craigslist screenshot by Lead Stories)
Event
On June 14, 2025, a parade celebrating the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army (archived here) was scheduled in Washington, D.C. That day is also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday (archived here).
Image
The photo from the post on Craigslist, however, showed Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Earlier this year, it was published (archived here) by the AP under the following caption:
Russian servicemen attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 9, 2025, during celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II.
Companies
A Google search for "T-Mellon Events" did not show the company's website or other results confirming that it was a registered business entity in the United States.
Another entity mentioned in the entry was "Fight Fight Fight LLC" (archived here), a company associated with the launch of the $TRUMP coin (archived here) earlier in 2025.
In an effort to obtain further details about the authenticity and provenance of the ad, Lead Stories contacted the ad's poster. If we receive a response, or other relevant information, we will update this article accordingly.
Read more
Other Lead Stories articles concerning current events are here.
