WASHINGTON (AP) — “Black Insurrectionist,” the anonymous social media persona behind some of the most widely circulated conspiracy theories about the 2024 election, can be traced to a man from upstate New York.
He's also white.
With a profile photo of a Black soldier and the tagline “I FOLLOW BACK TRUE PATRIOTS,” the account on the platform X amassed more than 300,000 followers while posting dubious claims about Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Some were amplified by former President Donald Trump, his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and their Republican allies in Congress. The most salacious claims have come in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Last month, the account posted what Black Insurrectionist claimed was an affidavit from an ABC News employee, alleging Harris was given questions in advance of the network’s debate with Trump — which ABC News vigorously disputed. Trump approved, though, declaring, “I love the person.” More recently, Black Insurrectionist posted a baseless claim alleging inappropriate behavior between Walz and a student decades ago, a falsehood that U.S. intelligence officials said sprang from a Russian disinformation campaign.
The reach that the Black Insurrectionist account attained with assistance from Trump and his allies demonstrates the ease with which unverified information from dubious sources can metastasize online to shape public opinion. The speed and scale of disinformation has been an animating force in the presidential campaign, with the potential to affect the outcome in a close election.
The Black Insurrectionist account is linked directly to Jason G. Palmer, who has his own questionable backstory, starting with the fact that he isn't Black, according to an Associated Press review of public records, open source data and interviews with a half-dozen people who interacted closely with Palmer over the past two decades. The records and personal accounts offer a portrait of an individual who has repeatedly been accused of defrauding business partners and lenders, has struggled with drug addiction and whose home was raided by the FBI over a decade ago. He also owes more than $6.7 million in back taxes to the state of New York.
“He's far from African American,” said Kathleen Albano, who said her deceased husband was involved in a failed business venture with Palmer.
In emails and phone conversations, Palmer, 51, made a series of seemingly contradictory claims about his ties to the account, which was deactivated last week several hours after the AP first reached out to Palmer for comment.
He acknowledged in an email that he was involved with the account, but said that he did not create it. He also claimed to have owned it at one point before selling it in April or May to a person who he declined to identify.
“I do not know what is going on with this account,” Palmer wrote in an email last Thursday.
But in an interview on Tuesday he said he participated in making claims about Walz that were posted to the account this month. And he suggested that he worked as a “researcher” with a broader group.
“We did that with big people. National people,” Palmer said. “I have no comment on anything else regarding that.”
He also said that the account was primarily operated by a friend of his who is Black. He repeatedly declined to identify who that was, or put the AP in touch with the person.
A spokesperson for X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, did not respond to a request for comment.
The AP traced the account to Palmer based on posts made by Black Insurrectionist that included biographical details about living in upstate New York, a screenname and an email address. Those details cross-referenced with information available online that the AP tracked down with assistance from Gisela Pérez de Acha, an open source reporting specialist for the Human Rights Center at University of California, Berkley.
A video posted in March by Black Insurrectionist shows a computer screen displaying the docket of Trump's election case in the Georgia. His initials “JP” are visible in an icon on the web browser’s toolbar. And Palmer's email address can be seen in the corner of the screen, indicating that he used it to log into the state's online court system.
The email address is linked to a phone number, according to opensource data provider Osint.Industries, that is listed for Palmer in New York court records. The same email is also linked to a Skype account with the username “jg palmrt,” according to the opensource data provider Epieos. Palmer’s middle initial is “G.”
Palmer also used similar iterations of the email address in the past, according to court records.
A separate Black Insurrectionist post on X from January 2024 complained about Microsoft Network's content moderation policies and included a screenshot revealing that an individual with the username “jg palmrt” had posted a comment on a news story that was censored by MSN.
The suggestion that Palmer was involved with an account that spread falsehoods about the upcoming election was not a surprise to those who have had business and personal dealings with Palmer over the past two decades.
“He owes me a ton of money,” said Albano, whose late husband had a business relationship with Palmer. “He has a way of roping people in. I always had his number. I knew exactly who he was. But unfortunately my husband got caught up in a lot of those dealings."
Albano said Palmer purchased a Webster, New York, home from her and her husband but failed to make payments. She said Palmer talked her husband into a investment venture to recoup the money, which also ended poorly.
"None of it materialized ever," Albano said.
Unlike other Palmer business associates, Albano said the couple chose not to sue because "you can't get blood from a stone.”
Palmer denied Albano's account. He said that Albano’s late husband was his accountant and that he paid off a mortgage on the home. He denied that they ever had extensive business dealings.
In the mid-2000s, Palmer embarked on a real estate venture, buying up commercial properties in downtown Rochester. It ended with a string of lawsuits from creditors and former business partners, seeking tens of millions of dollars in unpaid loans and assets. Palmer blamed his troubles with the venture, in part, on an opioid addiction he had at the time.
Some former business partners alleged Palmer tried to seize control of buildings using documents with their signatures forged, according to court records.
In a 2020 case in Oneida County, New York, a forensic specialist conducted a detailed analysis of a document signing over an apartment complex to a company in which Palmer held a stake. The specialist concluded that “the evidence indicates that the signatures and the notary seal” were produced “by way of cut and paste or digital manipulation.”
Palmer said that it was actually his former business partner, William Mendick, who had defrauded him. The case, which was brought by Palmer, was dismissed in 2022.
Maureen Bass, a bankruptcy attorney in Rochester, said she wasn't shocked by Palmer's connection to an X account spreading conspiracy theories. Bass represented Wells Fargo in a commercial foreclosure case against Palmer and recalled that he once sent her old firm a lengthy email “manifesto” that accused local government officials of conspiring against him.
“It was rambling. He had been a victim of the ‘Axis of Evil.’ Politicians had done things to him, and had taken his assets," Bass said. “So this doesn't surprise me."
This photo taken December of 2004 shows Jason G. Palmer. (AP Photo)
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch pleaded not guilty Friday to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.
Michael Jeffries, 80, declined to comment after his lawyer entered the plea on his behalf in federal court in Central Islip, on Long Island. He is free on a $10 million bond and is due back in court Dec. 12.
“Today’s hearing was procedural in nature, bond has been set to ensure Michael’s appearance in Court, and of course we entered a plea of not guilty,” Brian Bieber, his attorney, said in an email afterward, declining to comment on the allegations.
Prosecutors allege that for years, Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man, 71-year-old James Jacobson, lured men into taking part in sex parties by dangling the promise of modeling for the clothing retailer, once famous for its preppy, All-American aesthetic and marketing with shirtless male models.
Jacobson, who was an employee of Jeffries when prosecutors say the crimes occurred, also pleaded not guilty and declined to speak to reporters afterward. He’s free on a $500,000 bond.
In charges announced earlier this week, prosecutors say 15 accusers were induced by “force, fraud and coercion” to engage in drug-fueled sex parties in which the men were sometimes directed to wear costumes, use sex toys and endure painful erection-inducing penile injections.
The events took place between 2008 and 2015 in New York City and the Hamptons, the wealthy summertime resort on Long Island where Jeffries has a home, as well as at hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts, according to the indictment.
The allegations echo sexual misconduct accusations described in media reports and made in a civil case against Jeffries, who left Abercrombie in 2014 after leading the company for more than two decades.
Jeffries initially appeared Tuesday in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida where he was arrested with his partner, 61-year-old Matthew Smith.
But while Jeffries was released on bond, Smith was ordered detained after prosecutors raised concerns that the dual American and British citizen might flee the country. No date has been set for Smith’s arraignment.
Jacobson, who prosecutors say recruited men for the sex parties, was arrested in Wisconsin and made his initial appearance in federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Jeffries took over as CEO of Abercrombie in 1992, presiding over the evolution of the company from its roots as a hunting and outdoor goods store founded in Manhattan in 1892 to a fixture of teen mall culture during the early 2000s.
Abercrombie, in a statement posted on Instagram after the arrests, said it was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations.
The Ohio-based company, which also owns the clothing brand Hollister, said it has “transformed” its brands and culture in the decade since Jeffries departed.
Abercrombie stopped using “sexualized” photos in marketing materials and ended the practice of calling store staffers “models.” It hired an outside law firm last year to conduct an independent investigation into similar allegations against Jeffries.
“Speaking up and coming forward is not easy, and our thoughts remain with those who have bravely raised their voices as part of the federal investigation,” the company wrote in its statement Wednesday. “We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind, and are committed to fully cooperating with law enforcement as the legal process continues.”
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Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, right, exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
James Jacobson exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges connected to the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Michael Jeffries, center, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
James Jacobson walks outside of the federal courthouse before his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges connected to the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
James Jacobson walks outside of the federal courthouse before his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges connected to the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Michael Jeffries, center, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
James Jacobson leaves in a vehicle outside of the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges connected to the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
James Jacobson smokes outside of the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges connected to the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, center, exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, center, exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, center, exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, center, exits the federal courthouse after his arraignment on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Central Islip, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Michael Jeffries, right, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, gets into the car of his attorney, Brian Bieber, center, as they leave following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is seen during a hearing for Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, right, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves with his attorney Brian Bieber, left, following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, right, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves with his attorney Brian Bieber following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
