Fact check: No, cell data used to arrest Idaho suspect doesn't prove '2000 Mules' correct

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·6 min read
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The claim: Post implies '2000 Mules' theory proven because Idaho suspect caught with help of cellphone data

A Jan. 5 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a tweet by John Rich, a member of the country music duo Big & Rich.

"They caught the Idaho killer using cell phone ping data, the exact same method used to track the #2000Mules," reads the tweet. ​​​​"One's praised as 'brilliant detective work,' the other has been vilified as 'not credible.' See how this works? We live in a mirrored fun house where every image is bent."

The post was shared more than 800 times in 12 days, while the original tweet has been retweeted more than 22,000 times.

Several commenters appeared to agree with the post's implication that "2000 Mules," a film that makes unfounded voter fraud claims using cellphone data, was proven correct because police used cellphone data while investigating the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.

"Exactly!" reads one comment.

"True!" reads another.

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Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim here is wrong. Police used location data taken specifically from Kohberger's cellphone and combined that with other evidence, including DNA, to justify his arrest. "2000 Mules" used large-scale, anonymized cellphone geolocation data, which, experts say, isn't nearly precise enough to prove someone took a specific action such as dropping a ballot in a drop box.

'2000 Mules' voter fraud claims not proven by cell data

"2000 Mules," released in May by conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza, claims "mules," or ballot stuffers, were paid to illegally gather and drop off ballots in crucial swing states to tilt the results of the 2020 election against former President Donald Trump.

The film relies on research from True the Vote, a Texas-based nonprofit, which, according to the Associated Press, has said it found 2,000 "mules" by purchasing $2 million of anonymized cellphone geolocation data – the “pings” that track a person’s location based on app activity.

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Multiple independent fact-checking outlets, including AP, PolitiFact and Reuters, have debunked the film's assertions, all pointing out that cellphone location data isn't precise enough to confirm someone dropped a ballot in a drop box.

"The data isn't good enough to tell you for sure that somebody physically went up to a ballot box," said Aaron Striegel, a computer science and engineering professor at the University of Notre Dame.

In general, cellphone location data can only reliably track a particular cellphone to an area about the size of a city block, Andrew Appel, a computer science professor at Princeton University, told USA TODAY.

Combination of evidence, including DNA, used to arrest Idaho suspect

Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested in late December in connection with the deaths of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death on Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home in Moscow, Idaho.

Police have yet to say what might have motivated the killings, but court documents released in early January provided more details about the investigation. To make the case for Kohberger's arrest, police relied on a combination of evidence, including DNA left on a large knife sheath found at the scene, trash collected from his parents' Pennsylvania home, surveillance video, cellphone records and license-plate readers that tracked his car on a cross-country drive.

Police determined Kohberger's phone had been near the students' rental house at least 12 times in the six months before the attack, and "all of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours," the court documents say.

Authorities also used cellphone location data to track the suspect's location and noted his cellphone was either turned off or put in airplane mode for a time that overlapped the attacks.

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While "2000 Mules" relied exclusively on cell phone data to make its case, the case against Kohberger doesn't rely solely on cellphone location data – and it shouldn't, Appel explained.

"They use it to learn some things about the suspect, but when they have to go prove something in court, it would be a pretty weak case if they only relied on that," he said.

Striegel agreed, and he pointed out that police didn't need an exact location to show Kohberger was in the area at certain times.

"They were looking at whether (Kohberger) was around the house," he said. "They don't need to know that he was sitting in a car across the street or that he was on the sidewalk."

Police found DNA from a single male source left on the button of a knife sheath found near one of the victims. Then, police took DNA from the trash at Kohberger's parents' home in Pennsylvania and were able to say with a high level of probability that it belonged to the biological father of the person whose DNA was on the knife sheath.

Kohberger remains in jail without the possibility of bail as his case continues. He is expected back in court in June for a preliminary hearing.

USA TODAY reached out to Rich and the social media user who shared the post for comment.

PolitiFact also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Post wrongly links Idaho death investigation, '2000 Mules'