YouTube A rumor went viral on Twitter that Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexual assault, would be speaking at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Brock Turner, who was tried and convicted of three counts of sexual assault after attempting to rape an “unconscious intoxicated woman” in 2015, started to trend on Twitter on August 18, as it was rumored that he would be speaking at the 2020 Republican National Convention this month.
Turner, who’s now 24 years old and living in Bellbrook, Ohio, according to Megan’s Law registration, is not scheduled to speak at the RNC next week. The rumor started trending on Twitter after comedian Jena Friedman tweeted, “BREAKING NEWS: Brock Turner, Stanford Student Athlete Who Assaulted Unconscious Woman, Will Speak At RNC.”
In 2016, Turner, a former swimmer at Stanford University, admitted to sexually assaulting Chanel Miller, who identified herself as the victim. Turner, who was 20 at the time, could have received up to 14 years in federal prison, but because he was a first-time offender and showed remorse, Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in county jail. He served for three months.
JENA IS A COMEDIAN. She made a joke. That’s her job. It’s in her bio. She’s not a journalist. The fact that Brock Turner would fit right in with the RNC speakers isn’t her fault.
Jokes have been swirling on Twitter about who will be speaking at the RNC, which takes place Monday, August 24, through Thursday, August 27, after it was announced that Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the married lawyers who wielded guns against peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters passing by their gated community in St. Louis, would be participating at the event. The McCloskeys were separately charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon but the charges were eventually dropped.
After Fox News confirmed that Nicholas Sandmann would be speaking at the RNC, Twitter users responded with more fake RNC speakers.
The former Covington Catholic High School student who made national headlines in 2019 after the video of his interaction with Omaha Tribe elder Nathan Elder at the Lincoln Memorial went viral. Sandmann made headlines again in July after it was announced that he had settled his $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post.
What Is Brock Turner Doing Now?
#BREAKING: Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner released from jail after serving half his 6-month sentence for rape.
In December 2017, Turner filed an appeal for a new trial, but it was unanimously rejected by a three-judge panel of 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose, California, and he was forced to register as a sex offender for life.
Judge Franklin Elia, who wrote on behalf of the panel, said there was “substantial evidence” to support the convictions on all three charges. Turner is now listed as a Tier III sex offender, which is the most severe sex offender designation. He is required to verify his address every 90 days, according to Ohio’s criminal code.
Turner’s work address listed on his Megan’s Law registration matches the address for Tark, Inc., a company that manufactures cooling packages for the CT and X-Ray tube industry, according to its website.
“He worked in shipping and receiving and he’s now in quality control. He’s been with us for just over two years,” the Daily Mail reported in 2019, quoting an anonymous source. “He’s really quiet and polite. He doesn’t say much and he’s not really chatty with anyone. He just keeps his head down and does his job, no problems.”
Who Else Is Scheduled to Speak at the Republican National Convention?
GettyDonald Trump and Melania Trump arrive for the signing ceremony of a proclamation on the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 2020.
In addition to the McCloskeys and Sandmann, numerous other speakers have already been confirmed to give speeches at the RNC. Those slated to speak include first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, according to The Washington Post.
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