‘Unfounded’: Police Debunk Viral Claim Shared By Elon Musk And Others of Bomb Found Near Trump Rally Site
AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
Quickly debunked claims spread like wildfire on X on Wednesday that explosions were found in a car near the site of former President Donald Trump’s upcoming rally on Long Island, New York.
The Nassau County Police Department released an official statement calling the claims “unfounded.”
“Reports of explosives being found at the site are unfounded. There is a person who is being questioned who may have been training a bomb detection dog near the site. The individual with the bomb dog falsely reported explosives being found and that individual is currently being detained by police,” read the statement.
The inaccurate report that was quickly shared by the likes of Elon Musk and other pro-MAGA influencers appeared to originate with the Daily Mail. The tabloid published an article titled, “Cops ‘find explosives’ in car near Trump rally on Long Island.”
The Mail later corrected its headline to debunk the claims and explained the error:
Sources in the Nassau County Police Department allegedly told journalist James Lalino earlier Wednesday that the rally site ‘perimeter was breached and a blue barrel was removed.’
Musk quickly shared an unverified post on X claiming, “BOMB: The Democrat incitement of political violence against President Trump has escalated in the two days following the second attempt on his life. Thanks to a bomb-sniffing dog working in conjunction with the Secret Service a third attempt on Trump’s life was thwarted, this time in Long Island, New York.” Musk, as has become his custom, shared the inaccurate news with the simple comment, “Wow.”
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