Republican Falsely Claims That Canada's Justin Trudeau Has Fled To The US To Escape Trucker Protesters

In the past three days, Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy has continued to peddle fake news after promoting a fictional online rumor initially circulated by an anonymous Twitter account, which claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fled to the United States amid security scares in Ottawa.

Roy's tweets appeared to have been prompted by a tweet from an anonymous Twitter account called "Terror Alarm." On Saturday afternoon, the owner of the account, later identified as Libi Cohen, tweeted, "#Urgent: Justin #Trudeau moved to A safe place in the U.S. according to Israeli sources, as Canada protests spark security fears."

However, the photo used in that tweet was taken in 2016 upon the Prime Minister's arrival in the United States for an official visit to Washington. It showed Trudeau and his family in the foreground, an American flag noticeable in the background, CNN reported.

The allegations of Trudeau fleeing Canada came amid protests in the Canadian capital by a group of truck drivers and other groups and individuals opposing vaccine mandates, the country’s COVID-19 restrictions, and Trudeau’s leadership.

On Thursday, the Canadian PM announced that he was isolated for five days after being exposed to a COVID-19 patient. By Monday, news got out that he contracted the virus and was recovering in an undisclosed location in Ottawa on Saturday and Sunday.

Despite his diagnosis, Trudeau held a televised virtual news conference on Monday from the Harrington Lake official residence in Quebec to address the ongoing chaos on the streets, The Guardian noted.

“We won’t give in to those who fly racist flags. We won’t cave to those who engage in vandalism. There is no place in our country for threats, violence, or hatred,” he said.

The news conference began some two hours before Roy again took to Twitter to air his baseless assumptions.

"If Justin Trudeau is hiding in the United States, we should return him to Canada and make him face his people immediately." The Daily Beast noted he then added, "No safe haven for fleeing COVID tyrants. #LiveFree #DeportTrudeau."

Meanwhile, Cohen, whose tweets caught the attention of Roy, said they got the initial information about Trudeau "from local Israeli media." The source, however, was only an obscure Twitter account named "Masonic Mission” with fewer than 4,000 followers.

Cohen said they genuinely believed the information about Trudeau, prompting them to post the alarming tweet. Early Sunday, the account made a “#FactCheck” tweet that the Canadian leader "is NOT in hiding" but rather "is in Covid-related self-isolation.”