Tweet from 'Ammon Bundy' likening himself to Rosa Parks sparks intrigue
It is believed the twitter account for the militia leader is fake
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.On reflection, it all seemed a bit too strange to be true.
One was an unarmed young black woman who refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Alabama, an action that helped provide momentum to the movement that eventually ended formal racial segregation in the US.
The other is the white son of an infamous right-wing rancher who thinks he should not have to pay taxes, whose armed militia have seized a government compound, angered the local people they claimed to be supporting, and have sparked disquiet across the country.
So when someone claiming to be Ammon Bundy, one of the three Bundy brothers who have seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, tweeted that he should be seen in the same light as the civil rights icon Rosa Parks, people took note.
“We are doing the same thing as Rosa Parks did,” said “Mr Bundy”.
“We are standing up against bad laws which dehumanise us and destroy our freedom.”
Indeed, the reaction was so strident and vociferous that the name Rosa Parks trended on twitter.
Now it transpired that Mr Bundy did not say that, because he is not on twitter.
The website, Factually, drew attention to a tweet by MSNBC reporter
Tony Dokoupil, who has been reporting from Burns and who said the tweet about Parks had not come from the rancher’s son.
“People, Ammon Bundy is not operating a twitter account,” he wrote.
“I stood with him last night as tweets supposedly from him went out.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments