Fact check: Adam Schiff latest politician targeted in QAnon arrest hoax

June 29, 2021 marjorie taylor greene, qanon

The claim: U.S. Special Forces arrested Rep. Adam Schiff

In recent months, one website has falsely claimed in a series of articles that the U.S. military has arrested, tried and even hanged prominent public figures under the direction of former President Donald Trump.

The politician most recently named by the QAnon-linked outlet is Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the head of the House Intelligence Committee whose role in the first impeachment trial of the former president established him as a major political adversary of Trump.

A June 20 Facebook video with over 31,000 views says U.S. Special Forces arrested Schiff at his home outside of Washington, D.C., in May, and he is now at a “holding facility” before being transported to Guantanamo Bay for trial.

It also claims that before Trump’s term ended, he and former Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen left a “sealed indictment” stating Schiff “betrayed his oath of office, lied to his constituents, embezzled cash, subverted the Constitution, and committed treason — all in the name of wanting to eradicate his nemesis, Donald Trump.”

More:‘He has not paid the price, yet’: Trump tweet about Schiff crossed the line, Democrats say

QAnon followers circulated a similar theory about Schiff in December 2020, claiming that the military had arrested him along with Nancy Pelosi, USA TODAY reported.

Fact check:Posts cite fake records site to claim Schiff, Pelosi were arrested

Some of those commenting on the post weren’t buying it, and they were right to be skeptical. The claim is false. Schiff has not been arrested.

No evidence Schiff has been arrested

The video claiming Schiff was arrested comes from Restored Republic, a site registered in Vietnam on May 12, but the theory of this made-up arrest originated on the site Real Raw News on May 26.

USA TODAY and other outlets have debunked several claims from Real Raw News related to the QAnon conspiracy theory in the past, including claims that Hillary Clinton was arrested and hanged and that Trump ordered Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett put on house arrest.

The Schiff claim is similarly baseless.

A spokesperson for Schiff, Jenna Galper, said in an email the story “is completely false and without basis in reality.”

Fact check:False claim about Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett

In addition, no major outlets have reported that Schiff was arrested or indicted. He also appeared on the CBS’s “Face the Nation” on June 20 and on MSNBC on June 28.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., center, taking questions after announcing the impeachment managers, from left to right, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020.

Claim part of larger misinformation effort seeking to prove QAnon prophecies

The article about Schiff, as well as several other false news stories about prosecution and arrest of politicians, stem from the QAnon conspiracy theory. The false theory holds that political, media and industry elites are part of a satanic ring of pedophiles who influence the U.S. government as part of a “deep state.”

Fact check:Conspiracy theory about military control of Washington is false

A core tenet of the QAnon conspiracy theory, USA TODAY has found, is that Trump will eventually succeed in exposing this undercover cabal in a series of mass arrests, referred to as “The Storm.” The story from Real Raw News about Schiff’s arrest and other stories fabricate evidence that these arrests have begun and are being carried out under the authority of the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay.

Fact check:Flipped photo falsely claims Biden has a body double and is left-handed

The Real Raw News article also claims that Schiff had “body doubles” who would protect him from arrest or physical harm. USA TODAY has debunked several false claims about body doubles that were linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Our rating: False

We rate the claim that U.S. Special Forces arrested Rep. Adam Schiff FALSE, based on our research. Schiff has been active in the months since he was purportedly arrested, and there is no evidence to support the claim, which is related to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. Schiff’s spokesperson also confirmed this wasn’t true.