The "Black Insurrectionist," an anonymous persona that supports Donald Trump and spreads conspiracy theories and disinformation about the 2024 election online, is actually an indebted white MAGA man living in upstate New York, an investigation by the Associated Press has discovered.
Jason G. Palmer, 51, spewed fringe conspiracy theories that would regularly trigger traction from Republican figures who shared his content online that impacted public opinion about the presidential election. Trump and running mate JD Vance often shared Palmer's unverified information from sketchy sources to their millions of social media followers, the AP noted.
Palmer's deception centered on his self-invention as the "Black Insurrectionist," a fake Black soldier who gained over 300,000 followers on X.
Why a Black Insurrectionist?
The Republican Party this year has made efforts to attract Black voters, many of whom have a strong positive opinion of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Race has been a talking point for the Trump campaign. Previously, he questioned the authenticity of President Barack Obama's race, a man born to a White mother and Black father, often implying he was Muslim and frequently referring to him, employing his middle name, as Barack Hussein Obama.
More recently he has questioned Harris' identity as a Black woman. Harris, a biracial woman born to a Black Jamaican father and an Indian mother, has always identified as a Black woman.
"I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said in Chicago at a convention for the National Association of Black Journalists. "So, I don't know — is she Indian? Or is she Black?"
Harris described his remarks as "the same old show" of "divisiveness and disrespect."
As a faux "Black Insurrectionist" Palmer may have attracted or influenced Black voters who were on the fence about the Democratic Party, and edged them toward Trump.
Web of lies
Among the most salacious claims Palmer has peddled online have emerged in the closing weeks of the campaign, noted AP reporter Brian Slodysko.
Last month, "Black Insurrectionist" posted a document that he claimed was an affidavit from an ABC News employee allegedly claiming that Harris was given questions before her network debate with Trump.
Despite ABC News denying the allegations, Trump commented on the post: "I love the person."
Palmer also posted a baseless claim alleging inappropriate behavior between Harris' running mate Tim Walz and a student decades ago. Intelligence officials debunked the claims as falsehoods linked to a Russian disinformation campaign.
Palmer has history of fraud accusations against him from people in New York and of accumulating debt.
Kathleen Albano, a woman who is familiar with Palmer through her late husband, told the AP that he "owes me a ton of money" after investments. "He has a way of roping people in," she said. "I always had his number. I knew exactly who he was. But unfortunately my husband got caught up in a lot of those dealings."
Palmer denied Albano's allegations.
Palmer also owes $6.7 million in back taxes to the state of New York, according to records obtained by the AP.
Creditors and past business partners from a failed commercial property deal in Rochester sued Palmer in an effort to recover millions of dollars in unpaid loans. In a 2020 court case in Oneida County, defendants accused Palmer of trying to seize control of buildings using forged documents, the wire service reported.
Maureen Bass, a bankruptcy attorney, who represented Wells Fargo in a commercial foreclosure case against Palmer cited a wild email "manifesto" that Palmer sent her previous firm.
"It was rambling," she said. He said he had been a "victim of the 'Axis of Evil.' Politicians had done things to him, and had taken his assets."
When contacted by the AP for comment about his false persona, Palmer deactivated his "Black Insurrection" X account. He later said the account was primarily operated by a Black friend, whom he did not name.
