Breitbart’s False and Inflammatory Claim about Tragic Wine Country Fires
ImmigrationProf reported last week on the efforts by Breitbart and other conservative blogs to pin the devastating Wine Country fires on undocumented immigrants. As authorities continued to investigate the cause of Northern California’s deadly wildfires this week, they refuted what they described as false claims started by the conservative website Breitbart about their investigation.
A Breitbart article on Oct. 17, 2017 said Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, 29, “was arrested on suspicion of arson in (the) Wine Country fires that have killed at least 40 residents.”
Sonoma County sheriff’s officials tell a much different story and have called the Breitbart report “completely false.”
Even so, the article quickly spread across right-wing media outlets, including InfoWars and the Drudge Report, which shared Breitbart’s unsubstantiated claims — as detailed by BuzzFeed News.
Politifact California’s verdict:
A Cal Fire spokesman said the agency has not identified an arson suspect nor has it determined whether arson was the cause of the deadly fires.
Sonoma County sheriff’s officials have pointed to Breitbart for fueling false rumors about their investigation.
At this point, there’s been no suspect identified and no arrests made tied to these deadly fires, contrary to the website’s inaccurate and irresponsible claim.
We rate Breitbart’s claim False.
FALSE – The statement is not accurate.
Breitbart’s blaming of the fires on undocumented immigrants reminds me of the scene from the classic movie Casablanca with the famous line “Round up the usual Suspects.”
KJ