A rumour claimed that “Senator Warren Sherman” – a US senator from Vermont – was arrested by the FBI for 6 felonies.
The story has been copied a number of times across a variety of different websites including newsfeedobserver.com and asamericanasapplepie.org, but the article remains largely the same. An excerpt can be read below –
Senator Warren Sherman of Vermont says he had no idea what was happening when his charter plane was stopped on a runway at Sanders Field in Burlington late last night. The plane was boarded by the FBI and all of the passengers and crew arrested.
After hours of tearing the plane apart, Senator Sherman faces charges of running an illegal gambling establishment, possession of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, ecstacy and marijuana with intent to distribute and facilitating prostitution. Basically, he was flying around in a private 727 with a bunch of rich Democrats in a mobile den of iniquity.
Senator Sherman’s office says they regret the news and expect the Senator to answer questions for himself when he’s done being processed and interrogated. US Attorney Gil Gabriel of the 2nd District of Washington says Sherman should be in front of a judge for a bail hearing tomorrow.
This is an example of fake news. While many fake news websites will use the names of real people in their stories, this article is clearly fake since there is no senator “Warren Sherman” from Vermont. The current senators from Vermont are Democrat Patrick Leahy and Independent Bernie Sanders.
The photo in the article that shows a man in handcuffs actually shows former police chief James Burke who was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment for violating the civil rights of a man who stole from him back in 2016.
As such, the story is demonstrably false and should not be circulated.