After falling for an internet hoax, rapper Meek Mill falsely accused an Arizona trucker of being one of the police officers who killed Alton Sterling — and that trucker says he has received death threats as a result.
Viral Image Falsely Identifies Trucker As Cop Involved In Sterling’s Death
Following growing unrest caused by the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police officers on Tuesday, a photo of a man identified in social media posts as one of the Baton Rouge police officers responsible for the shooting has gone viral with thousands of retweets and shares.
The only problem? The man depicted in the photos is not one of the police officers involved. The viral images are of Arizona trucker Robert Kinnison, who has nothing to do with the shootings. The names of the officers actually involved are Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II.
It looks like we can add “Robert Kinnison” to the list of names trolls circulate after shootings #AltonSterling pic.twitter.com/NWKSjAyq6Q
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) July 6, 2016
Kinnison is an outspoken Trump supporter and gun rights activist. He says that this is not the first time he has been trolled following a high profile shooting.
Trucker Says He Has Received Death Threats
Kinnison says that he has become the victim of “lots of hate and death threats” since his images went viral on social media.
@Robertkinnison3 how u just kill him and dont care i hope u get raped for the rest of your life in jail
— Eren Beats (@eren_beats) July 8, 2016
Kinnison’s struggles were made worse when popular rapper Meek Mill posted the hoax images to his Instagram page. Meek Mill wrote in his post, “I guess this not a thug….. If I say what I really wanted to say I would prolly b arrested!”
Kinnison has taken to social media, making videos to try to show people that he had nothing to do with Sterling’s death.
— Robert J. Kinnison (@Robertkinnison3) July 6, 2016
Sources:
The International Business Times
TMZ
Morning News USA