The Claim: Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA tweeted:
Did you know:
The ACLU is suing Dallas County officials to release all inmates who are susceptible to contracting Coronavirus
This would include illegal alien Billy Chemirmir
Chemirmir murdered AT LEAST 22 elderly women across Dallas
Why does the left want him freed?
🤔
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 15, 2020
This tweet was also re-tweeted by President Donald Trump on 5/17/2020:
It is true that the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine individuals in the Dallas County Jail, which is where Billy Chemirmir is currently incarcerated. The federal class-action lawsuit against Dallas County and Sheriff Marian Brown is asking for the immediate release of anyone over 50 and those who are most vulnerable to contracting the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
There are several false claims in Charlie Kirk’s tweet. First, Billy Chemirmir is not an illegal alien, but rather legally holds permanent resident status. This is false.
Charlie Kirk claims that Billy Chemirmir will be released along with other susceptible inmates who are over 50 years of age. As of this date, Billy Chemirmir is 47 years old and would not be included for release. Further, the ACLU lawsuit states only non-violent inmates are to be released. Billy Chemirmir is accused of murdering up to 22 people and certainly is not classified as non-violent.
Our rating: Blatant Lie, all aspects of this tweet is false.
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It’s also worth noting that no one on the left is clamoring for Mr. Chemirmir to be released from prison, that Mr. Chemirmir should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law (Mr. Kirk’s support for due process seems to be applied unevenly), and that the ACLU is a non-partisan organization that defends the civil liberties of all persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (including white nationalists and gun rights activists—not exactly pet causes of the left). But, that said, it’s tweets like these that are the reason why I refer to him as “Charlatan Kirk.”