A viral claim stating that US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff was arrested at Los Angeles airport on Christmas Eve is found to be fake. The hoax was accompanied with another claim wherein a twitter user claimed to have videos and images of Schiff's arrest at LAX.
The claim, which originated on December 25, gained traction on various social media platforms in the following days. Rep. Adam Schiff, who was the lead prosecutor during President Donald Trump's impeachment, has remained on the hit list of those propagating hoax claims and conspiracy theories.
Schiff's Arrest Record Available on a Website?
The hoax started after a twitter user Melanias Rhonda with the handle Agent Rhonda, tweeted that she witnessed Schiff being escorted out of a terminal by airport police on December 24. The user even tweeted about uploading the audio and video confirming Schiff's arrest.
The hoax was further fueled by another twitter user 'Forgotten Patriot' who claimed that LA County Arrest Records have confirmed the arrest of the democrat. The user even shared a screen shot showing the arrest record of Adam Bennett Schiff.
According to USA Today, lacountyarrestrecords.org displays fake arrest records of Schiff, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and many other politicians. A disclaimer at the bottom of the site states that none of the information is official. The site requires a monthly fee to access any information, it reported.
Twitter Suspends Account of Conspiracy Theorist
Meanwhile, Rhonda's account was suspended on Twitter, fueling the conspiracy theory even further. "Why is Twitter censoring everything about the Adam Schiff arrest? They suspended the account of the person who witnessed the arrest at LAX," tweeted a user.
"@melaniasrhonda who had information about Adam Schiff's arrest has been silenced. You only silence people when they have the truth," tweeted another.
"Has there been a public appearance/sighting of @RepAdamSchiff since the rumors of his arrest?" wrote another.
Quashing the rumors surrounding the alleged arrest of Schiff, Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association tweeted that that there is no record of Schiff being arrested by Los Angeles airport police or LAPD.
Snopes also confirmed that Schiff was not arrested by the LA cops. Schiff's name doesn't show up in the official sources of arrest information in Los Angeles, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department inmate locator or the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, reported the outlet.
