Update on “Armed men” & fake ballots

CNN has corrected its headline and printed a corrected story in typical fashion: down at the bottom of the page, they note that they might have made a mistake.

“According to our information at this very early stage of investigation, it appears these individuals were operating under the belief that ‘fake ballots’ are being counted at the Convention Center — a completely unsupported claim — and that belief may have been what drew their attention to Philadelphia.” Roh told CNN in an emailed statement.

But it wasn’t their fault.

CNN affiliate KYW had earlier reported that the men were “coming to deliver a truck full of fake ballots” to the city, citing prosecutors.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the presumed motive for why Antonio LaMotta and Joshua Macias had come to the Philadelphia Convention Center armed with guns. They may have believed fake ballots were being counted there, according to Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Roh. The headline and story have been corrected.

So what apparently happened was the two men drove to Philadelphia to check out the counting of ballots while unaware that Pennsylvania doesn’t recognize any other State’s license to “keep and bear arms.” (Or the Constitution.)


None of the articles report that the men possessed any ballots – fake or otherwise.

They were arrested, their names and personal histories published, then arraigned on the possession charges. The judge ordered them held on $700,000 bond. Each.

If only they had chanted “Black Lives Matter” or “No Justice, No Peace” & thrown a few rocks. Then, they would have been released with no bond.

(Other than that, the story was accurate.)

CNN.