Post purportedly from Nancy Pelosi calling for critic's arrest is fabricated | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Image shows Nancy Pelosi's X post calling for GOP strategist's arrest

A Dec. 4 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes an image of a post on X, formerly Twitter, supposedly from Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

"@BrilynHollyhand has called for me to be arrested for orchestrating January 6," reads the X post. "Brilyn should be arrested for spreading fake news. Do not follow or support him."

The supposed post refers to Brilyn Hollyhand, one of the co-chairs of the Republican National Committee's Youth Advisory Council.

Various versions of the screenshot were shared widely on social media, accumulating thousands of shares in a day before many were deleted.

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Our rating: Altered

The image is fabricated. Pelosi's spokesman said no such post was shared on her X account. The supposed screenshot is also missing elements a legitimate post would include.

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Pelosi, the longtime Democratic congresswoman from California and former House speaker, did not share the post, communications director Aaron Bennett told USA TODAY.

"Absolute hogwash," Bennett said in an email. "This message was never tweeted from the speaker's account."

The supposed post could not be found in a search of Pelosi's X account. There also are no credible news reports about the former speaker sharing such a statement.

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The image of the post resembles posts on X but lacks a timestamp or virality data, as would be seen in screenshots of legitimate posts.

USA TODAY has previously debunked numerous false claims involving Pelosi, including that she was kicked out of office by her own party, that she was arrested and that she bought thousands of shares of a company behind a radiation drug.

USA TODAY reached out to Hollyhand and the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but neither immediately responded.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pelosi post calling for commentator's arrest is fabricated | Fact check