FACT CHECK: No, Hunter Biden Was Not Hanged By The Military At Guantanamo Bay

Hannah Hudnall | Fact Check Reporter

A viral YouTube video shared on Facebook claims Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was hanged Oct. 15 at Guantanamo Bay by the U.S. military.

Verdict: False

Hunter Biden was not hanged at Guantanamo Bay. The claim originated from a website that says it contains “humor, parody, and satire.”

Fact Check

The YouTube video, which has garnered over 87,000 views to date, bears the title: “Military Court Ruled: Hunter Biden Hanged At Gitmo.” In the video itself, a seemingly automated voice alleges Hunter Biden was hanged last week at Guantanamo Bay by the Office of Military Commissions and the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. His supposed execution came after a military tribunal allegedly found him guilty of treason and a “myriad of sex crimes against underage women.”

Inaccurate claims about various public figures, including former Attorney General William Barr, Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton being put to death by the U.S. military have circulated online in the past. Hunter Biden appears to be the latest subject of such a hoax. (RELATED: Was Hunter Biden Arrested By The Military?)

In September, Check Your Fact debunked the claim that Hunter Biden had been arrested by the military while at an airport. He was spotted at an art exhibition in Los Angeles, California, in early October, the Daily Mail reported. Neither his father nor the White House have put out a statement about his supposed death following that appearance, and major media outlets also haven’t reported that he died.

A spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions provided Check Your Fact an emailed statement on the claim that reads, in part:

The story is purely disinformation. The Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay are specifically set up to try law-of-war detainees that are affiliated with al Qaeda and some would argue the Taliban who supported al Qaeda. That’s it. Individuals who qualify as alien unprivileged enemy belligerents that were associated with al Qaeda will be tried by military commissions at Guantanamo, IF (and that’s a big IF) they are charged. The Military Commissions has never tried a case against Hunter Biden. Under the Military Commissions Act of 2009 and USC 948 Section 10, the commissions cannot try US civilians. The Office of Military Commissions, which oversees the legal proceedings for the law-of-war detainees at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Cuba, has no jurisdiction.

A keyword search revealed the bogus claim about Hunter Biden being hanged comes from a Real Raw News article published Oct. 16. Real Raw News has a disclaimer that states its website contains “humor, parody, and satire.” The YouTube video features no such warning about the satirical origins, leading users to mistakenly believe it happened.

Other baseless online claims about the U.S. military executing public figures at Guantanamo Bay have previously stemmed from Real Raw News articles.

Hannah Hudnall

Fact Check Reporter

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