Harlem NYPD precinct ‘likes’ Trump,
QAnon conspiracy theories on Twitter
BY REUVEN BLAU AND
CARSON KESSLER
THE CITY
A Harlem NYPD precinct
proved a social media
fan of QAnon conspiracy
theories and liked multiple tweets
from President Donald Trump —
including one pushing a bogus argument
about vote-by-mail fraud.
The 26th Precinct Twitter account
also liked tweets claiming
that the media and a major online
furniture site are involved in some
kind of global child sex traffi cking
ring. Another favorited post
showed names and pictures of
numerous left-leaning celebrities
— and declared them pedophiles.
“I was shocked when I saw
that stuff,” said Dan McSweeney,
a community activist associated
with the Morningside Heights
Community Coalition.
McSweeney said he raised the
rogue social media posts with one
of the precinct’s Neighborhood
Coordination Offi cers, whom, he
said, told him the Twitter account
had been hacked. The offi cer did
not respond to an email seeking
comment.
All Det. Denise Moroney, a
NYPD spokesperson, would say
was: “The incident was looked
into and addressed internally.”
The likes were removed after
THE CITY inquired about the
posts.
It is unclear who handles the
26th Precinct’s Twitter account,
though many are run by the precinct’s
Neighborhood Coordination
Offi cers, an NYPD source said.
The Rev. Stephan Marshall, a
liaison to the Rev. Al Sharpton,
urged Police Commissioner Dermot
Shea to probe the tweets and
make his fi ndings public.
“It’s very, very insensitive,” said
Marshall, of Sharpton’s National
Action Network. “Who controls
these accounts?”
In the heart of Harlem
The 26th Precinct, located on
125th Street, covers much of the
The NYPD’s 26th Precinct in Harlem.
west side from 110th Street to
141st Street, encompassing part
of Harlem, and all of Morningside
Heights and Manhattanville.
All told, the precinct’s Twitter
account liked seven Trump tweets,
including a video posted by the
president on June 27 that claims
“In Democrat-controlled cities
across the USA violent mobs of
liberals are rioting and looting.”
The precinct account also liked
a Trump tweet that lied about
coronavirus deaths being “way
down.”
“Mortality rate is one of the
lowest in the World,” he tweeted
on June 25. “Our Economy
is roaring back and will NOT be
shut down. ‘Embers’ or fl are ups
will be put out, as necessary!”
At least 121,900 Americans
had died from COVID-19 by
that time. The United States has
the fourth highest death rate
per-100,000 population out of
the 20 countries hit hardest by
COVID-19, according to John
Hopkins University research.
The fi rst off-message social media
like from the precinct came on
March 28 when someone tweeted
speculation that the U.S. Comfort,
the Navy’s fl oating hospital,
left New York’s Pier 90 in a “Q”
formation on April 30. That post
supported QAnon conspiracy
theories.
Twitter last month yanked
thousands of accounts that posted
messages about the conspiracy
theories, including the one with
the supposed map of the U.S.
Comfort leaving New York.
‘Inappropriate and intolerable’
Trump has enjoyed support
from some rank-and-fi le cops
and union leaders. On Friday,
Pat Lynch, president of the Police
Benevolent Association, met with
the president during the National
Association of Police Organizations
gathering at the White
House.
Marshall, who called the 26th
Precinct Twitter likes “inappropriate
and intolerable,” noted that
the president once urged police
PHOTO BY HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN/THE CITY
departments to rough up people
more during arrests.
“When you guys put somebody
in the car and you’re protecting
their head, you know, the way you
put their hand over, like, don’t hit
their head and they’ve just killed
somebody. Don’t hit their head. I
said, you can take the hand away,
okay?” Trump said in 2018.
In 2014, the department under
then-NYPD commissioner
Bill Bratton, created individual
Twitter accounts for each of its
77 precincts and for some of its
specialized units.
Some recently drew heat for
controversial tweets.
Last month, two accounts
blamed elected offi cials and the
city’s violence interrupters for
failing to stop the increase in
shootings throughout the city.
“Disgraceful the amount of
people shot in Manhattan North
in the past 24 hours! Where are
the elected offi cials and violence
interupter (sic)!! The community
is suffering!!” tweeted NYPD
Patrol Borough Manhattan North
on July 5.
An hour later, another supervisory
command ripped Manhattan
District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.
“No show at any shooting
scene!!! Our community is being
attacked, there have been 24
people shot in the city in the past
24 hours…. Where Are You!!!”
added the tweet from NYPD
Manhattan South.
The attack on Vance was amplifi
ed by NYPD Assistant Chief Kathleen
O’Reilly, who shared the tweet
and added, “Complete No Show in
Manhattan North!! Shame!!”
Vance’s spokesperson defended
his actions, noting the DA rarely,
if ever, goes to crime scenes.
Instead, assistant district attorneys
are dispatched to compile
information.
This story was originally published
on Aug. 3, 2020, by THE
CITY, an independent, nonprofi t
news outlet dedicated to hardhitting
reporting that serves the
people of New York.
Schneps Media August 6, 2020 3