Newsrooms seized on a Donald Trump supporter’s mistake on social media Wednesday, and reported he had appeared to call for the lynching of Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
New York businessman Carl Paladino’s Twitter account said Wednesday morning, “Lynch @LorettaLynch let the Grand Jury decide.”
His note was in reference to the FBI announcing this week that it would recommend no charges be brought against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server when she worked at the State Department. FBI Director James Comey also said his agency would refer the case to the Justice Department and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who is black.
Paladino quickly deleted his original tweet, and took another crack at it with a corrected note that read, “@LorettaLynch let the Grand Jury decide.” But by then it was too late.
Newsrooms were already up and running, publishing headlines claiming the Buffalo businessman had suggested that the AG should be lynched.
“Trump supporter tweet appears to call for lynching of Loretta Lynch,” read a CNN headline.
The New York Daily News followed with a headline reading, “Donald Trump’s N.Y. campaign leader Carl Paladino appears to call for lynching of AG Loretta Lynch in tweet.”
“Trump Pal: Never Mind My Lynching Tweet,” read a Daily Beast spread. “A staffer apologizes for a racially inflammatory Twitter post from Carl Paladino, who has a history of saying such things.”
A reporter sent a question to Paladino’s Twitter account, asking, “Hi Carl. I’m sure you know why I’m tweeting you. Why use ‘lynch’ in that tweet? Do you regret? Why delete? Please let me know.”
The account responded with, “I work for Carl, I’m new to twitter & tweeted what Carl asked but made mistake of adding Lynch. My bad.”
That didn’t put the story to rest, though, as the New York businessman eventually reached out personally to CNN to explain the brouhaha.
“I intended to say to Lynch to send the FBI report to the grand jury to decide criminality which she is legally obligated to do,” he said in an email. “I have never personally tweeted. We are novices. My assistant tried to send it directly to Loretta Lynch by adding ‘@Loretta Lynch.’ It was a well-intended mistake that the progressive press wants to take out of context.”
Even with this explanation, newsrooms still cast doubt over his now-deleted tweet, as groups like CNN and the Daily Beast were careful to note Paldino has said some controversial stuff in the past.
“[W]hile this one may have been made in error, the Buffalo, New York, developer has a long history of nasty interactions,” the Daily Beast reported. “In 2010, he was busted for sending beastiality [sic] images in various emails, pornographic videos and one video of an African tribal dance with the title ‘Obama Inauguration Rehearsal.'”
CNN added in a similar note, “Paladino … has also drawn criticism in the past for his language. In April, he talked about exterminators ridding government of ‘raccoons in the basement,’ which is also a racial slur for African-Americans that many interpreted as being directed toward President Obama.”
