A good rule of thumb is if a hate crime or some other form of harassment makes you go “huh?”, there’s something fishy about it.
The Jussie Smollett case is still the most obvious case of a hate crime that raises a lot of questions even at first glance. But anything odd or unnatural is a red flag.
Take this case.
Tennessee’s former vaccine manager said she was sent a dog muzzle before she was fired – CNN
There’s the “huh”. A dog muzzle isn’t entirely implausible, it’s just not the most obvious thing. It’s like a form of harassment that you have to reverse engineer.
And that screams hoax.
The media had been running a number of similar stories about health officials in southern states being harassed, and CNN, along with the rest of the media jumped on this case until something awkward happened.
A Tennessee investigation found evidence that the state’s fired vaccine chief, Michelle Fiscus, purchased a dog muzzle that she previously claimed someone had mailed in an attempt to intimidate her.
Why it matters: Fiscus, who denied sending herself the muzzle in a Monday tweet, has characterized her firing as a political move driven by Republican state officials after she shared a memo citing state law about whether adolescents can seek medical care, including a COVID vaccine, without their parents’ permission.
Fiscus and her husband, Brad, had said in multiple interviews, including with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, that the muzzle was sent anonymously to her state office through Amazon shortly before her firing.
“Someone wanted to send a message to tell her to stop talking, they thought it would be a threat to her,” Brad Fiscus told the Tennessean.
Or, you know, they had a muzzle lying around and decided to use it. The Fiscuses are claiming it’s a case of stolen identity.
In a statement distributed by her husband, Fiscus said she was not aware of the report until Axios shared it.
“We have now learned that a second Amazon account had been established under my name using what appears to be a temporary phone, possibly in Washington state,” Fiscus said.
“I have asked Homeland Security for the unredacted report so that I can investigate further and am awaiting their response,” she added.
Fiscus did not discuss the use of the American Express card in her name.
If someone opened a credit card in her name, that’s a serious crime. And I’m sure she’s eager to file a criminal report.
Until that happens, it’s worth noting that the media and Democrats jumped on this case with both feet. CNN ran multiple stories about Fiscus because they fit a political narrative. As they did with the even less credible Rebekah Jones in Florida. And assorted medical professionals who made certain claims about conservative patients dying of the coronavirus.
But that’s what happens when there’s no actual fact-checking for your own side, just shameless narrative pushing.
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