No, Trump did not promise to free Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and Trump advisor Jerry DeLemus
Before the paint was even dry on Donald Trump’s stunning election night victory, some Granite Staters began lobbying the President-elect to free Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the militiamen who joined him in a 2014 armed confrontation with federal officials.
Most of their attention focused on Jerry DeLemus, the Rochester Tea Party leader and New Hampshire Veterans for Trump co-chair, who sits in a federal prison after being charged with 11 felonies including conspiracy to impede and injure a federal officer, assault on a federal officer, obstruction of justice and interference with interstate commerce by extortion.
DeLemus recently announced his intention to withdraw from the plea deal he negotiated with prosecutors in which he confessed to two felonies in exchange for a lenient prison sentence.
The day after the election, local conservative radio talk show host and newspaper columnist Jeff Chidester shared a screenshot on Facebook that appeared to be a Donald Trump tweet from earlier this year. “My first action as president will be to pardon Cliven Bundy and every other patriot who fought for freedom in Nevada and Oregon,” the tweet read.
Former New Hampshire GOP chair Jack Kimball, a close friend of DeLemus, picked up the charge. “Donald Trump promised to pardon and release all the Patriots in OR and NV once he became President,” Kimball wrote on Susan DeLemus’ Facebook page.
“This promise was made on February 12th of this year,” Kimball continued. “I spoke to Jerry yesterday and he was elated by Trump’s election and looks forward to his keeping his word so he can come home to Sue and his Mother-in-Law.”
Chidester subsequently acknowledged the screenshot might not be legit, but refused to remove it from his Facebook page. “Folks - some are questioning the screenshot - it will remain up, until Trump either confirms or deny,” he wrote. “I reached out to the campaign months ago. They did neither. It remains up for either a confirmation, denial, refudation.”
It’s a hoax – and one easily debunked. The fake screenshot first appeared on Twitter on February 12, 2016. The original version included a watermark along the right side: “Created on faketrumptweet.com.”
Regardless, there are no signs that Trump plans to intervene in the Nevada trials. In interviews earlier this year, Trump expressed opposition to the Bundys and other armed protesters who occupied a wildlife refuge in Oregon. “You cannot let people take over federal property,” he told the New York Times. “You can’t, because once you do that, you don’t have a government anymore. I think, frankly, they’ve been there too long.”
DeLemus was optimistic that he could change Trump’s mind. He told Reuters that he planned to discuss “the true nature of the standoff in Oregon” with Trump in an attempt to persuade the candidate to back the group. “It’s my intention to ensure that he has the whole story,” DeLemus said. “I think it’ll really arouse him, and once he understands, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him heading out West.”
A few weeks after that interview, DeLemus was arrested by the FBI and transferred to federal prison in Nevada.