The 'Black Rebel' was actually white. The deception didn't stop there

WASHINGTON (AP) — “Black Insurrectionist,” the anonymous social media personality behind some of the most widely circulated conspiracy theories about the 2024 election, has been traced back to an upstate New York man. He is white.

Featuring a profile photo of a black soldier and the slogan “I FOLLOW BACK TRUE PATRIOTS,” the account on Platform Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Some were reinforced by the former president Donald Trumphis running mate Ohio Sen. J.D. Vanceand Republican allies in Congress. Some of the most salacious claims have been made in the final weeks of the campaign.

Last month, the account posted what Black Insurrectionist claimed to be an affidavit from an ABC News employee alleging that Harris had been asked questions ahead of the network’s debate with Trump — which ABC News strongly disputed. Trump, however, approved, stating, “I love the person.” More recently, Black Insurrectionist posted a baseless claim about inappropriate behavior between Walz and a student decades ago, a falsehood that U.S. intelligence officials say stemmed from a Russian disinformation campaign.

The reach that the Black Insurrectionist account achieved with the help of Trump and his allies shows how easily unverified information from dubious sources can metastasize online to shape public opinion. The speed and scale of disinformation have been an animating force in the presidential campaign, with the potential to influence the outcome in nearby elections.

The Black Insurrectionist account is directly linked to Jason G. Palmer, who has his own questionable backstory, starting with the fact that he is not black, according to an Associated Press review of public records, open source data and interviews with a half a dozen people who have worked closely with Palmer over the past twenty years. The documents and personal accounts offer a portrait of an individual who has been repeatedly accused of defrauding business partners and lenders, has struggled with drug addiction and whose home was raided by the FBI more than a decade ago. He also owes more than $6.7 million in back taxes to the state of New York.

“He’s far from African-American,” said Kathleen Albano, who says her late husband was involved in a failed business venture with Palmer.

In emails and phone conversations, Palmer, 51, made a series of seemingly contradictory claims about his involvement in the account, which was deactivated last week just hours after the AP first contacted Palmer for comment.

He acknowledged in an email that he was involved with the account but said he did not create it. He also claimed to have owned it at one point before selling it in April or May to a person he declined to identify.

“I don’t know what’s going on with this account,” Palmer wrote in an email last Thursday.

But in an interview on Tuesday, he said he had been involved in making claims about Walz that were placed on the account this month. And he suggested that as a ‘researcher’ he would work with a broader group.

“We did that with big people. National people,” Palmer said. “I have no further comment on that.”

He also said the account was primarily run by a friend of his who is black. He repeatedly declined to identify who that was or put the AP in touch with the person.

A spokesperson for X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, did not respond to a request for comment.

The AP traced the account to Palmer based on Black Insurrectionist posts that included biographical details about life in upstate New York, a screen name and an email address. Those details pointed to information available online linking the account to Palmer.

A video posted by Black Insurrectionist in March shows a computer screen displaying the role of Trump’s election case in Georgia. His initials “JP” are visible in an icon on the web browser toolbar. And Palmer’s email address can be seen in the corner of the screen, indicating he used it to log into the state’s online court system.

According to open source data provider Osint, the email address is linked to a telephone number. Industries, which is listed for Palmer in New York court records. The same email is also linked to a Skype account with the username ‘jg palmrt’, according to open source data provider Epieos. Palmer’s middle initial is “G.”

Palmer has also used similar variations of the email address in the past, court records show.

A separate Black Insurrectionist post on

The suggestion that Palmer was involved in a report that spread falsehoods about the upcoming election was no surprise to those who have had business and personal dealings with Palmer over the past two decades.

“He owes me a lot of money,” said Albano, whose late husband had a business relationship with Palmer. “He has a way of bringing people in.” I always had his number. I knew exactly who he was. But unfortunately my husband got involved in a lot of those things.”

Albano said Palmer had bought a house in Webster, New York, from her and her husband, but had not paid for it. She said Palmer convinced her husband to start an investment business to recoup the money, which also ended badly.

“None of that ever came to fruition,” Albano said.

Unlike other business associates of Palmer, Albano said the couple chose not to press charges because “you can’t get blood from a stone.”

Palmer denied Albano’s story. He said Albano’s late husband was his accountant and that he had paid off a mortgage on the house. He denied that they had ever had extensive business dealings.

In the mid-2000s, Palmer embarked on a real estate venture, purchasing commercial real estate in downtown Rochester. It ended with a series of lawsuits from creditors and former business partners, seeking tens of millions of dollars in unpaid loans and assets. Palmer partly blamed his problems with the company on an opioid addiction he had at the time.

Some former business associates alleged Palmer tried to take control of buildings using documents with forged signatures, court documents show.

In a 2020 case in Oneida County, New York, a forensic specialist conducted a detailed analysis of a document signed over an apartment complex at a company in which Palmer had an interest. The specialist concluded that “the evidence shows that the signatures and the notarial seal” were created “through cut and paste or digital manipulation.”

Palmer said it was actually his former business partner, William Mendick, who defrauded him. The case, brought by Palmer, was dismissed in 2022.

Maureen Bass, a bankruptcy attorney in Rochester, said she was not surprised by Palmer’s connection to an X account that spread conspiracy theories. Bass represented Wells Fargo in a commercial foreclosure case against Palmer and recalled that he once sent her old firm a lengthy email manifesto accusing local government officials of conspiring against him.

“It was messing around. He had been a victim of the ‘Axis of Evil’. Politicians had done things to him and taken his property,” Bass said. “So this doesn’t surprise me.”

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