‘Black Insurrectionist’ X Account Spreading Anti-Harris Conspiracy Was Reportedly Run By A White Guy

Rightwing conspiracy theories have been circulating online for the past few weeks, most of them directed at Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. At least two prominent examples of such views are taken from an X account called “Black Insurrectionist,” which until recently featured a profile picture of an African American military veteran. Now, a new report from the Associated Press says the man using the account is not Black and has a checkered legal history.

The AP reports that a white man named Jason G. Palmer is “directly linked” to the Black Rebels account, which goes by the handle @DocNetyoutube. The account allegedly spread false rumors that Tim Walz was involved in an “inappropriate relationship with a minor,” as well as raising a claim that the Harris campaign met with ABC news network ahead of the 2024 debate with Donald Trump. , where Trump did not do well.

After the AP reached out to Palmer, the account was closed. Although the account still appears to be inactive, the Wayback Machine shows what it looked like before:

The AP says it was able to tie an email address taken from one of the videos posted by the Black Insurrectionist account to Palmer. The video showed the account user’s computer screen, and Palmer’s email address was visible on the background of the desktop, the report said. The AP contacted an open-source investigative company that helped match the email address and phone number.

When confronted by the AP about his connection to the account, the newspaper reports that Palmer “acknowledged in an email that he was involved with the account,” but went on to make several contradictory statements. Palmer said he “didn’t create” the account, but said he “had it at some point before selling it in April or May to someone he declined to identify.” Palmer went on to say that the account was “used by his black friend” although he did not identify the black friend and refused the AP’s request to contact them.

More surprisingly, Palmer said he served as a “researcher” for the wider group. “We did that with great people. The people of the nation,” he told this newspaper. “I have nothing more to say about that.”

It was not immediately apparent how to contact Palmer. The AP also noted that he has a history of legal trouble, and that, in the past, he was involved in a “real estate business” that ended in “a series of lawsuits.”