FACT CHECK: Claim That FEMA Director Deanne Criswell Was ‘Beaten’ At Gitmo Is Satire
A post shared on Facebook claims Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Deanne Criswell was purportedly beaten at Guantanamo Bay.
Verdict: False
The claim is false and originally stems from a Nov. 19 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Criswell supported a probe into an alleged incident where a FEMA employee told staff members to avoid pro-Trump homes during recent disaster relief efforts, according to Newsweek. The employee involved in the alleged incident has since been terminated, the outlet reported.
The Facebook post claims Criswell was purportedly beaten by guards at Guantanamo Bay after they discovered an “active iPhone 14 tied to a prepaid AT&T account” among her belongings. Criswell supposedly used the phone to communicate with FEMA’s central office in Washington, D.C., and is awaiting a military tribunal, according to the same post.
The claim is false and originally stems from a Nov. 19 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A “Disclaimer” included on the site’s “About Us” page indicates its content is not meant to be taken literally. “Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice [of] legal counsel,” the disclaimer reads.
The article is a follow-up to a Sept. 14 piece published by the site claiming Criswell had purportedly been arrested on charges of sedition and conspiracy following a “yearslong effort” by military “White Hats.” (RELATED: No, Jack Smith Was Not Convicted Of Treason And Executed At Gitmo)
Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. In addition, FEMA has neither issued a press release nor a social media statement commenting on the claim. Navy JAG has not publicly commented on the claim, either.
Furthermore, Patricia Babb, a spokesperson for Navy JAG, denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“This is not true,” Babb said of the claim.
Check Your Fact has also contacted FEMA for comment.