Michigan GOP legislator posted about ‘illegal invaders’ at Detroit airport

[GMDino]

It was Gonzaga’s March Madness team.  


https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/28/politics/fact-check-matt-maddock-invaders-gonzaga-madness-detroit/index.html

Quote:3 minute read 
Updated 9:38 PM EDT, Thu March 28, 2024

WashingtonCNN — 


A Republican state representative in Michigan, Rep. Matt Maddock, claimed on social media on Wednesday night that he had photo evidence of “illegal invaders” arriving at Detroit Metro Airport.

One of the two photos Maddock posted on the platform called X, formerly known as Twitter, showed an Allegiant Air plane. The other photo showed three buses. Maddock wrote: “Happening right now. Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro. Anyone have any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?”


Facts First: Maddock’s claim is false. The buses were not for “illegal invaders”; they were for the men’s college basketball teams that landed at the Detroit airport to compete in the NCAA tournament known as March Madness. The only Allegiant Air flight to the airport on Wednesday was a charter flight that carried the team from Gonzaga University, which plays Purdue University on Friday.

“The four men’s basketball teams competing in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 at Little Caesars Arena arrived at DTW Wednesday evening. The buses seen in a photograph circulating online were transporting the basketball teams and their respective staffs,” the Wayne County Airport Authority, which operates the Detroit Metro Airport, said in an email to CNN on Thursday.


It’s not certain which team took the particular buses shown in Maddock’s photo. But Barrett Henderson, Gonzaga University’s assistant athletic director for communications, confirmed to CNN on Thursday that the team flew on an Allegiant plane, landed at Detroit Metro airport on Wednesday evening in the hour before Maddock’s post, and boarded buses that were waiting at the airport.


An Allegiant spokesperson said Thursday that a charter flight carrying the Gonzaga team from Spokane, Washington, was the only Allegiant flight to the Detroit airport on Wednesday. That is corroborated by an online flight-tracking website.


As for Maddock’s claim about “illegal invaders” getting a police escort? Henderson confirmed that the bus carrying Gonzaga’s players received a police escort to their hotel. Rob Anderson, sports information director at Creighton University, told CNN that their team landed at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, had buses waiting and received a police escort as well.


“I was on one of those buses,” Anderson said.


Maddock triples down
Maddock made his false claim in a month during which false and misleading claims about airplane flights involving migrants have proliferated on the political right.

Hundreds of social media users quickly disputed Maddock’s post on Wednesday, but Maddock refused to concede. He replied to one of the many people who pointed out the plane and buses were likely for NCAA basketball teams: “Sure kommie. Good talking point.”


Maddock continued to dig in on Thursday morning. He wrote a new post saying, “We know this is happening” and that hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are “pouring into our country.” He added: “Since we can’t trust the #FakeNews to investigate, citizens will. The process of investigating these issues takes time.”


CNN has asked Maddock for comment.

[*pally*]

that was so funny but at the same time rather pathetic

it is so sad and must be exhausting to be so paranoid that you see conspiracies and evil in everything

[Dill]

(03-30-2024, 10:15 AM)GMDino Wrote: It was Gonzaga’s March Madness team.  
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/28/politics/fact-check-matt-maddock-invaders-gonzaga-madness-detroit/index.html

Not so fast with the "kommie talking points" Dino!


Has anyone checked that Gonzaga team's passports? 

I don't believe that a Republican politician would get all riled and flood social media with

false accusations based on racial stereotypes--and then triple down on the claims if they were disproven.

This is a time when all manner of illegal POISON is coursing through the nation's bloodstream.  Be Alert!

We obviously aren't getting the whole story from the mocking elite media "gotcha" version. 

I trust real Americans over them any day.

[*Nately120*]

This reminds me that it's almost time for another holiday where I hang out with my wife's family and at least one of her uncles is going to lament that basketball teams aren't comprised of white guys anymore.

[Arturo Bandini]

Outraged by everything except for what really matters ...

[StoneTheCrow]

(03-30-2024, 02:38 PM)Nately120 Wrote: This reminds me that it's almost time for another holiday where I hang out with my wife's family and at least one of her uncles is going to lament that basketball teams aren't comprised of white guys anymore.

You really seem to be surrounded by the most stereotypical of the whites.

[*Nately120*]

(03-31-2024, 11:11 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: You really seem to be surrounded by the most stereotypical of the whites.

My friends all have conservative families, I'm the only person I know who comes from a liberal family.  In my adult life I've lived in 2 different small towns in rural PA, NYC, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.  So I get the ultra wHHHHaite people takes from their families while getting the odd bit of trivia that I know one of the 13 people on the planet who voted for George McGovern, Jimmy Carter Part 2 AND Walter Mondale, from my own crew.

I moved to Chicago in January of 2011 and I was taking the train into the city one of my first days there and I saw a guy wearing an Obama hat and I remember thinking how weird it was to see a person wear a hat with a politician on it like he was some sort of sports team.