After 67 people died in a collision between a military helicopter and a commercial airliner on January 29 in Washington, DC, far-right social media accounts began wrongly accusing Jo Ellis, a transgender American helicopter pilot, for causing the crash. Ellis took to Facebook to deny the rumours. This comes amid a wider campaign by the Trump administration targeting transgender servicemen and women in the US Army.
This is a screengrab of a post on X making false claims that a transgender helicopter pilot caused the fatal collision between a military helicopter and a commercial airliner on January 29 in Washington. © X
By: Nathan Gallo
Issued on: 03/02/2025
FRANCE24/AFP
FRANCE24/AFP
"Some craziness has happened on the internet and I’m being named as one of the pilots of the DC crash,” Jo Ellis wrote in a Facebook post on January 31. "It’s insulting to the victims and the families of those lost.”
Ellis was forced to respond after a large number of social media users on X and Facebook claimed that she was behind the collision between a US military helicopter and a commercial airline in Washington DC on January 29, which led to the deaths of 67 people.
A transphobic fake news story pushed by pro-Trump accounts
So how did a fake news story like this spread? The families of two of the three helicopter pilots, Ryan O'Hara and Carrie Eaves, took to social media in the wake of the tragedy, to post about the loss of their loved ones. However, several days later, the identity of the third pilot – reported by the media to be a woman – was still unknown to the wider public.
On the evening of January 30, social media users with links to the far right began to claim that “the Pilot of the Black Hawk has been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) Jo Ellis, a transgender woman”. Many of the accounts that shared these fake claims had a history of sharing transphobic and homophobic statements. Case in point: X account Fraxis, who claims to be the author of a book called “Fake & Gay: A Provocative Dismantling of the Homosexuality Myth”. Fraxis’s post about Jo Ellis gained more than three million views.
At left is the post published by X user Fraxis. At right is an account that goes even further, claiming not only that Ellis was involved but that “speculations” were rising about the pilot’s “deliberate intentions”. © X
"Jo has been making radicalized anti-Trump statements on socials,” Fraxis added in a post featuring images of Ellis. The post has since been deleted.
Other accounts went even further claiming not only that Ellis was responsible but that “speculations” were rising about the pilot’s potentially “deliberate intentions”.
"What happened may have been another trans terror attack,” wrote another pro-Trump X user with two million followers. His post garnered nearly five million views.
These baseless accusations are part of a wider context of dramatically increased hostility to transgender servicemen and women. President Donald Trump signed on January 27 an executive order to get "transgender ideology" out of the military.
'I hope you all know I am alive and well'
However, Jo Ellis was not flying that helicopter. Two hours after her initial Facebook post, she posted a face-to-camera video along with the caption "Proof of life and statement".
"Jo has been making radicalized anti-Trump statements on socials,” Fraxis added in a post featuring images of Ellis. The post has since been deleted.
Other accounts went even further claiming not only that Ellis was responsible but that “speculations” were rising about the pilot’s potentially “deliberate intentions”.
"What happened may have been another trans terror attack,” wrote another pro-Trump X user with two million followers. His post garnered nearly five million views.
These baseless accusations are part of a wider context of dramatically increased hostility to transgender servicemen and women. President Donald Trump signed on January 27 an executive order to get "transgender ideology" out of the military.
'I hope you all know I am alive and well'
However, Jo Ellis was not flying that helicopter. Two hours after her initial Facebook post, she posted a face-to-camera video along with the caption "Proof of life and statement".
Jo Ellis took to social media to deny the allegations that she was piloting the military helicopter involved in the crash (right). She also shared a video to serve as a “proof of life and statement”. © Facebook / Jo Ellis"This is Jo Ellis, I am a Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard,” she says in the video. "I understand some people have associated me with the crash in DC and that is false.”
"It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda,” she adds. "They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this. And I hope you all know that I am alive and well. And this should be sufficient for you all to end all the rumours.”
Our team contacted the Virginia National Guard by email. They confirmed that "there were no Virginia National Guard personnel on board the Black Hawk that collided with the jetliner Wednesday evening."
On the evening of January 30, by which point the fake stories about Ellis’s involvement in the crash had already started to circulate online, she changed her profile photo to honour the victims of the crash.
'I want to serve at least 15 more [years]. I love my state and I love my country'
These extreme rightwing accounts began pointing fingers at Ellis just two days after she published an article and a podcast with the US media outlet Smerconish about her experience as a transgender soldier in the US Army.
This is a screengrab of the article written by Jo Ellis in American media outlet Smerconish.com. © Smerconish.com
In the article, Ellis discussed the US Army's support in her transition, explaining that she had paid for it herself, contrary to what other fake claims were suggesting.
She also wrote about her patriotism and her love for the US Army.
“I’ve served in the same unit for 15 years. I want to serve at least 15 more. I love my state and I love my country,” she wrote.
The day after the crash, US President Donald Trump claimed that the collision “should have been prevented” and implied that diversity programmes – which promote the hiring of people with minority and marginalised backgrounds – within the Federal Aviation Administration could be the cause.
“They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want the people that are competent,” he claimed.
When asked whether he believed the crash was a result of diversity hiring, Trump said, “we don't know" what caused the crash but added: “It just could have been.”
In the article, Ellis discussed the US Army's support in her transition, explaining that she had paid for it herself, contrary to what other fake claims were suggesting.
She also wrote about her patriotism and her love for the US Army.
“I’ve served in the same unit for 15 years. I want to serve at least 15 more. I love my state and I love my country,” she wrote.
The day after the crash, US President Donald Trump claimed that the collision “should have been prevented” and implied that diversity programmes – which promote the hiring of people with minority and marginalised backgrounds – within the Federal Aviation Administration could be the cause.
“They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want the people that are competent,” he claimed.
When asked whether he believed the crash was a result of diversity hiring, Trump said, “we don't know" what caused the crash but added: “It just could have been.”
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