Police have 'absolutely no record' of fatal intruder incident at Mar-a-Lago | Fact check
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The claim: Navy SEALs killed an intruder at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 27
A Jan. 29 article by Real Raw News claims a fatal incident occurred at former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence on Jan. 27.
“White Hats Kill Mar-a-Lago Intruder,” reads the article's headline.
The article describes a purported incident in which two intruders scaled a wall to enter the property before being swarmed by Navy SEALs. A Navy SEAL shot one of the intruders after he brandished a pistol, while the second died by suicide after being surrounded, according to the article.
The article was shared more than 100 times on Facebook, according to the social media analytics tool CrowdTangle.
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Our rating: False
The Palm Beach Police Department said it has no record of any such incident at Mar-a-Lago, which is in its jurisdiction. There are no legitimate news reports or statements from Trump about the supposed incident. The article comes from a website that regularly publishes misinformation.
Trump mentioned Mar-a-Lago's property value in Truth Social post, but no reference to intruder incident
Mar-a-Lago has had several intruder incidents in the past, but the article’s claim of one on Jan. 27 is baseless.
“We have absolutely no record of this event, nor do I have anything else contextual that might have been confused with it,” said Capt. Will Rothrock of the Palm Beach Police Department, whose jurisdiction includes Mar-a-Lago.
A fatal incident involving intruders at Mar-a-Lago would lead to significant news coverage. However, there are no such reports from legitimate news outlets, nor did Trump make any statements about the purported intrusion on Truth Social.
Fact check: Claim that Fox News reported on Mar-a-Lago foreclosure started as satire
The former president’s Jan. 28 post on the platform mentioned the property, but the statement was about its financial value and not a fatal encounter.
Real Raw News is a known source of misinformation that says its website is for “informational and educational and entertainment purposes” and “contains humor, parody and satire.” USA TODAY has debunked an array of its articles, which included separate claims that U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were arrested and charged with treason.
USA TODAY reached out to Real Raw News, Mar-a-Lago and the Naval Special Warfare Command for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lead Stories and Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Will Rothrock, Feb. 8, Email exchange with USA TODAY
@realDonaldTrump, Jan. 28, Truth Social post
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Baseless claim of fatal intruder incident at Mar-a-Lago | Fact check
