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'Pro-Trump' Russian Flags Confiscated at CPAC

Small Russian Federation flags with 'Trump' imprinted on them were distributed on the CPAC floor by anti-Trump pranksters, but were rounded up quickly by staffers.

Published Feb. 24, 2017

An unknown number of Russian flags with the name "Trump" imprinted on them were confiscated at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on 24 February, just as President Trump began his scheduled speech.

Reported sightings of the flags, which in many cases were being waved enthusiastically by attendees, had spread rapidly via social media:

The distribution of the flags turned out to be a prank orchestrated by left-wing activists Jason Charter and Ryan Clayton, who are both associated with the protest group Americans Take Action. A tweet by Economist bureau chief David Rennie showed Clayton, who many attendees apparently mistook for a staffer, being ejected from the CPAC floor:


The flags were presumably intended to spoof President Trump's alleged ties with Russia and Vladimir Putin. According to Buzzfeed, Clayton and Charter claimed they arrived at the conference toting 1,000 of the flags and left with none. CPAC officials have not yet issued a statement about the incident.

Sources

Pearce, Matt.   "'It's a Russian Flag!' Trickster Strikes CPAC Before Trump's Speech." Los Angeles Times.   24 February 2017.

Reinstein, Julia and Montgomery, Blake.   "The CPAC Crowd Unwittingly Took Part In A Prank And Waved Russian Flags At Trump." BuzzFeed.   24 February 2017.

David Emery is a West Coast-based writer and editor with 25 years of experience fact-checking rumors, hoaxes, and contemporary legends.