On Friday, The Daily Mail reported that an Republican elector, Chris Suprun, who has stated that he is refusing to vote for Trump at the Electoral College lied about being a first responder on 9/11. Suprun, a 42-year-old from Dallas, wrote an editorial piece about his plan not to vote for Trump in the New York Times this month. In the piece, he wrote about being a heroic firefighter who was on scene after a plane hit the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. However, an investigation by WFAA reveals Suprun was not employed by the Virginia fire department until a month after the attacks. The fire department who employed him did not even respond to the Pentagon on 9/11.

In his NYT piece, Suprun wrote:

“Fifteen years ago, as a firefighter, I was part of the response to the Sept. 11 attacks against our nation. That attack and this year’s election may seem unrelated, but for me the relationship becomes clearer every day.”

The Daily Mail reports that Suprun has claimed to be a first responder on 9/11 with the Manassas Park fire department and made at least two appearances at Major League baseball games. He was introduced as a 9/11 veteran and threw out the first pitch. He also claims that he founded a non-profit group called “Never Forget.”

A responder who knows Suprun told the WFAA that Suprun was in fact not a first responder on 9/11. He told the WFAA:

“He claimed to be a first responder with the Manassas Park [Virginia] Fire Department on September 11, 2001 and personally told us stories “I was fighting fire that day at the Pentagon”. No, I was on a medic unit that day at the Pentagon and you make a phone call to Manassas Park and you find out that he wasn’t even employed there until October 2001.”

The Daily Mail reports that they reached out to The New York Times to find out if they fact checked Suprun before running his editorial piece. Their attempts to reach Suprun himself have been unsuccessful.

According to The Daily Mail, their fact checking led them to find Suprun may have fabricated more than just his 9/11 involvement. According to their report, Suprun has previously that he was once a paramedic with Air Methods air ambulance service. A spokeswoman for Air Methods said he does not work for the company. He also stated that he currently works for a paramedic company called Freedom EMS. Records from the Texas Department of State Health Services show a company by that name does not exist.

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