The Trump administration’s online accounts are circulating images of a pumpkin carved with a sombrero design and a fake Halloween-themed background around a Black man apparently accused of food assistance fraud, in social media posts slammed by critics as inflammatory rhetoric.
asserted
accounts → circulate → rhetoric
Only days before the midterm elections, the posts coincide with the government’s sweeping campaign to show its aggressive immigration enforcement, and highlight efforts to crack down on fraud to save taxpayers money when rising healthcare costs and other economic stressors have made affordability a top voter concern.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted Saturday on the social platform X a photo of the Black man standing in front of stacks of what appear to be U.S. currency with the headline, SNAP FRAUDSTER, an apparent reference to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
He is holding aloft what appears to be a bill set aflame.
asserted
what → coincide → stamps
“Some costumes come with a price tag.
asserted
costumes → come → tag
This one comes with a prison sentence,” it says to the backdrop of fake Spirit Halloween costume packaging.
asserted
it → come → packaging
Another photo posted by the White House on X on Thursday showed a pumpkin with the shape of a sombrero carved across it and the words “Spooky szn is here.”
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szn → post → it
The post by Rollins, who was nominated by Trump to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in November 2024, appears to be taken from an Instagram post from September 2025 by an account under the name Shawty Dred.
asserted
who → nominate → name
Earlier this month, Mercedes Reshard New, identified by the Justice Department as a social media personality also known as “Shawty Dred,” was arrested on federal charges for fraudulently obtaining more than $4 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in Georgia.
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New → identify → Georgia
It’s not the first time the White House has been accused of posting inflammatory images on official government social media accounts.
asserted
House → ’ → accounts
Just over a year ago during the government shutdown, the White House revived a deepfake video posted by Trump of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a fake mustache and sombrero to accuse the Democrats of acting on behalf of illegal immigrants instead of U.S. citizens.
asserted
House → revive → citizens
Jeffries described the meme as bigoted.
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Jeffries → describe → meme
They played it on repeat in the White House briefing room, though Vice President JD Vance promised that the “sombrero memes will stop” when Democrats agreed to end the shutdown.
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Democrats → play → shutdown
The NAACP did not respond to an email seeking comment, nor did the White House or Rollins.
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House → respond → comment
The Trump administration in recent weeks has ratcheted up its anti-immigrant rhetoric and accusations of fraud, including against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar whose Washington, D.C., home was searched by federal agents earlier this month.
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home → ratchet → agents
Federal authorities are investigating potential fraud in her family’s immigration paperwork.
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authorities → investigate → paperwork
Omar, who was born in Somalia, is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
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who → bear → Somalia
It also has taken a series of punitive steps linked to allegations of fraud in mostly Democratic-led states, including California and Minnesota whose governors accused the federal government of targeting their states for political reasons.
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governors → take → reasons
Federal prosecutors said in a news release Oct. 21 that the influencer, New, controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts under stolen identities between January 2020 and July 2026.
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influencer → say → January
He allegedly applied for his company, Shawty Dred LLC, to become an authorized SNAP retailer and used EBT debit cards to extract about $4 million from the accounts.
uncertain
company → apply → accounts
New’s Instagram account, which has more than two million followers, has flaunted his extravagant lifestyle, federal prosecutors said.
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prosecutors → have → lifestyle
Posts depict him flying on private jets, posing with Rolls-Royce vehicles in front of his “super mansion,” and handling massive stacks of cash.
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him → depict → cash
“Instead of this money feeding families in need, New, the social media personality known as ‘Shawty Dred,’ allegedly used the cash to bankroll a life of luxury,” Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Marlo Graham said in the release.
uncertain
Graham → feed → release
New was indicted by a federal grand jury Oct. 7 on dozens of counts of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, and one count each of SNAP fraud and illegal transactions with access devices.
asserted
New → indict → devices
He was arrested Oct. 13 and remains in federal custody.
asserted
He → arrest → custody
According to Fulton County jail records, New has been arrested multiple times on suspicion of crimes including identity theft, insurance fraud, financial transaction card fraud, forgery and simple assault.
uncertain
New → accord → theft
A federal defender listed in court records as representing New, Joseph Austin, did not return a phone message.
asserted
defender → list → message
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