Hear from the trans National Guard pilot falsely accused of flying helicopter in fatal collision
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00:00And now, she'll forever represent a cautionary tale of how the combination of loose talk and trigger fingers on keypads can sully a person's reputation and subject them to online ridicule, scorn, and threats.
00:16Joining me now is Joe Ellis. Nice to see you, Joe. How did this all happen from your perspective? Where were you? What were you doing when you found that you were being blamed for the Washington catastrophe?
00:31Thank you for having me, Michael. I want to reiterate that I'm speaking in a personal status, not representing the National Guard, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, and they don't deserve these rumors.
00:44I learned of this at 4.30 a.m. Friday morning from a text message of a close friend that a bot account was commenting on his Facebook post, asking if he knew Joe Ellis, who killed those people in the D.C. crash.
01:00Then someone sent me a link to a Pakistani newspaper article naming me in the crash, and then I received a daily mail phone call asking if I was alive and if I knew what was happening to me.
01:11What sort of threats, what sort of ridicule, what sort of pain have you been put through as a result of this process?
01:23Well, Michael, I was not surprised by the hate. This is my reality, and now that I'm more visible, more comes.
01:29The false claims put me and my family at risk. I was surprised by the outpouring of love and support, though, from strangers all over the world sending me messages, and I believe love shines brighter than hate.
01:42So, I don't believe in coincidence. You know that about me. I see causal connection.
01:48I don't think that Joe Ellis would have been wrongly blamed for the D.C. catastrophe, but for the comments that the president made in that press conference, where, without foundation, he tossed DEI into this conversation.
02:03What's your reaction?
02:04What's your reaction?
02:04Thank you.
02:05Thank you.