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Black Hawk helicopter
Jo Ellis posted a “proof of life” video on Facebook after right-wingers accused her of flying the Black Hawk that crashed into a passenger jet.
A wave of misinformation falsely linking a transgender U.S. Army pilot to a deadly midair collision over the Potomac River outside of Washington, D.C., has forced the service member to issue a public statement denying involvement.
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Jo Ellis, a Black Hawk pilot with theVirginia Army National Guard, became the target of right-wing misinformation after the Wednesday evening crash of American Eagle Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport. Despite no official confirmation of the helicopter crew’s identities, social media accounts falsely named Ellis as the pilot, attempting to tie her gender identity to the disaster.
Ellis refuted the rumors in a Facebook video on Friday morning, making it clear that she had no connection to the incident. “I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C., and that is false,” she said.
The crash killed all 64 people aboard the regional jet and three soldiers in the military aircraft. According to the Department of Defense, one of the pilots was a man, the other a woman, and a third crew member was a man. The cause remains under investigation.
The misinformation campaign against Ellis is part of a greater misinformation problem perpetuated by President Donald Trump’s Thursday remarks blaming the crash on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies—without evidence. During a White House press briefing, Trump claimed that “woke” hiring practices had compromised aviation safety, fueling conspiracy theories online. Within hours, thousands of posts on X and Facebook spread the false claim that Ellis was involved, The New York Times reports. Right-wing influencers and conspiracy theorists circulated old interviews in which Ellis discussed her military career, twisting them into accusations. Some posts falsely suggested the crash was an intentional act linked to her gender identity.
Ellis criticized the speculation as harmful, particularly to those grieving the loss of loved ones. “It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this.” Ellis assured viewers that she was alive and well and called for an end to the falsehoods. She also pointed to an official statement from the Department of Defense confirming that “There were no Virginia National Guard personnel on that Black Hawk that collided with the jetliner Wednesday evening.”
A Virginia Army National Guard spokesperson reiterated this in a statement toReuters, emphasizing that Ellis was not aboard the Black Hawk helicopter and had no involvement in the accident.
Trump issued an executive order earlier ordering the Department of Defense to align its workforce with the highest standards, which the order indicated excluded the service of transgender service members.
At Trump’s press conference, he falsely suggested that DEI programs led to unqualified individuals in critical aviation roles. Gay former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg quickly fired back, writing on X, “As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying.”
