News of Secret Service arresting John Bolton is fake
News of Secret Service arresting John Bolton is fake
(Web Desk) - Former national security advisor John Bolton was stripped of Secret Service protection in January, but the agency did not arrest him, as suggested in social media posts sharing a false narrative from a website that has previously published fake news of high-profile arrests.
Bolton, who became the target of an alleged Iranian murder plot after he served in the White House during the first Trump administration, was stripped of Secret Service protection and had his security clearance, opens new tab revoked after President Donald Trump began his second term on January 20.
Social media posts, opens new tab shared a photo of Bolton alongside the caption: “Globalist Traitor John Bolton Arrested for Treason.”
There are no credible news reports of the arrest, however.
Alexandria Worley, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, told Reuters in a February 11 email that the “claims are categorically false” and that “the US Secret Service has not arrested former national security advisor John Bolton.”
The John Bolton PAC, opens new tab did not respond to a request for comment.
The caption on the social media posts is nearly identical to the headline of a January 24, 2025, opens new tab, article on the “Real Raw News” website.
The website’s article says that Bolton was arrested for treason by his Secret Service detail on January 20 in Bethesda, Maryland.
The website carries a disclaimer on the site’s “About Us” page, opens new tab saying the content includes “humor, parody, and satire” but then describes that disclaimer as “for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel.”
Reuters has previously fact checked false reports of high-profile arrests stemming from the website.
