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CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto, a man known for his “incredibly premature” style of “journalism,” is under fire for doing what CNN seems to do best — spreading fake news and triggering unnecessary panic.
Around Saturday afternoon, Sciutto published an unconfirmed, unsubstantiated report to Twitter claiming U.S. Capitol Police had “arrested a Virginia man as he attempted to pass through a police checkpoint in downtown Washington Friday with fake inaugural credentials, a loaded handgun & over 500 rounds of ammunition.”
Sciutto’s report predictably triggered shrieks of fear among its readers.
Look:
New: US Capitol Police arrested a Virginia man as he attempted to pass through a police checkpoint in downtown Washington Friday with fake inaugural credentials, a loaded handgun & over 500 rounds of ammunition, CNN reporting.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 16, 2021
Woah. That’s a description of radicalized, suicide assassin.
If @GOP wants to save lives, the best thing they can do is step up and state that Biden won a free and fair election—as upheld in 64 court cases.
Renounce Trump’s big lie that purposely leads to violence.
— James Connor (@toJamesConnor) January 16, 2021
Am I the only who keeps thinking about the Las Vegas shooter and the fact that so many of these terrorists bragged online about how much ammo they’d be bringing, wondering how many actually left town, and how many are holed up in their hotel rooms right now?
— Braying Boozehound Jeanine Pirro (@porter_debby) January 16, 2021
Jim, In order to make “fake inaugural credentials”this person had to have access to ‘authentic inaugural credentials’.
My concern is who is giving these insurgents access to authentic inaugural credentials?
Thankfully US Capitol police recognized the bogus credentials, this time.— Bruno Hugo (@BHPIII13) January 16, 2021
OMG
This is insane
— BlackWomenAreKryptoniteToGOP (@battletested5) January 16, 2021
#maga is the new Al-Qaeda !!!!
— J GENAO (@jmg8650) January 16, 2021
But as tends to be often customary for CNN’s “reporting,” the report was false.
To its credit, The Washington Post, which has its own history of shoddy reporting, swooped in a couple hours later with the actual story.
It turns out the man, identified in court documents as Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, was a private security guard from Virginia who, far from approaching downtown D.C. with “fake inaugural credentials,” as Sciutto had falsely claimed, had simply lacked proper credentials.
“Beeler said he was given a credential by his employer, MVP Protective Services. … Beeler said he volunteered for a job in D.C. after a friend let him know of an overnight job with MVP to guard media equipment located at Seventh Street and Constitution Avenue NW. He said the credential he was given had previously been enough to enter that area,” the Post reported.
“He said he has had numerous security assignments in the past, including working as a corrections officer and providing security for a Saudi Embassy property. A spokeswoman for Allied Universal Security Services confirmed that Beeler had worked for a smaller security company it acquired.”
Folks: That man who drove into DC with a Glock and 500 rounds of ammo — his wife tells me he was a private security guard and hired to help secure the Capitol grounds. He’s charged with carrying all that firepower into DC without a proper permit. https://t.co/Wo6hNLhJzR
— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) January 16, 2021
What happened, according to the Post’s real (versus fake) report, is that after Capitol authorities determined Beeler’s credential wasn’t valid, they searched his vehicle and found a cache of ostensibly illegal weapons that he claims he’d simply forgotten to remove — and that he maintains he’s licensed to carry in his home state of Virginia.
“It was an honest mistake,” he told the Post.
Versus a dishonest mistake.
“In a tear-filled interview, he said he has spent the past week working as hired security in downtown Washington ahead of the inauguration. He said he forgot that his firearm was in his truck when he left his home in Virginia, where he said he has a license to carry,” the Post reported.
“He said he realized it was there halfway through his trip but that he was running late, so he didn’t turn around. He denied that he had the more than 500 rounds of ammunition listed in his arrest report.”
Upon finding his cache of weapons, Capitol authorities reportedly arrested Beeler “on charges of carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unregistered ammunition.”
During his first hearing Saturday, however, neither the prosecutor nor the judge sought to hold him, instead choosing to release on personal recognizance — presumably because they realized he’s no threat.
“A person with knowledge of Beeler’s actions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is pending, said Beeler has no extremist ties, cooperated fully with law enforcement and was cleared from further investigation, except for the charge of violating District law by carrying a pistol without a license,” the Post reported.
After the Post’s report, Sciutto issued an unapologetic update:
Important update: According to the court filing, CNN now reporting, the man presented an “unauthorized” credential for the area he was seeking to access, not a fake credential. Suspect was arrested for possession of an unregistered firearm and ammunition, among other offenses.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 16, 2021
The problem is that his report had already spread to every corner of the Internet, with the New York Daily News and a plethora of local stations having issued verbatim reports about the “fake inaugural credentials” that never were.
It’s for this reason that Sciutto came under fire, to which he responded by doing what CNN “journalists” seem to do best — blocking anyone who calls them out.
Look:
CNN lies. https://t.co/9pBwhoCNRZ pic.twitter.com/bGLCDfxzEH
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 17, 2021
Update: pic.twitter.com/ZPGnbjmBTH
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 17, 2021
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