Crime
Trans Member National Guard Pilot Jo Ellis Falsely Accused of Flying Black Hawk Helicopter
A transgender National Guard pilot has spoken out after being falsely accused on social media of piloting the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the fatal midair collision with a passenger jet near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, which claimed 67 lives.
Jo Ellis, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the Virginia Army National Guard, addressed the misinformation in a Facebook post on Friday, denouncing the baseless claims that had gained traction online.
The false allegations echoed unsubstantiated rhetoric from former President Donald Trump, who suggested diversity initiatives were to blame for the tragedy.
“Some craziness has happened on the internet, and I’m being named as one of the pilots of the D.C. crash,” Ellis wrote. “It’s insulting to the victims and families of those lost, and they deserve better than this BS from the bots and trolls of the internet.”
Ellis included screenshots of posts on X (formerly Twitter) that attempted to link her gender identity to the catastrophic crash.
One post speculated, “Wouldn’t be surprised if the pilot was trans,” while another falsely claimed Ellis had made “radicalized anti-Trump statements” on social media. The latter post was later deleted, and the account issued an apology.
Despite these corrections, Ellis’ name trended on X, accumulating over 19,400 mentions.
Even after she publicly refuted the claims—including in a follow-up video titled “Proof of Life”—far-right accounts continued to circulate misinformation and hate speech targeting her.
The National Guard has not commented on the allegations, and official investigations into the crash remain ongoing.
Authorities have identified the man shot and killed Friday afternoon in a parking lot outside a Little Caesars restaurant in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood.
The victim has been named as Stevens Jeffrey, 29, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The shooting occurred in the 2600 block of West Cermak Road near Rockwell Street at approximately 1:10 p.m., according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
Preliminary reports indicate that Jeffrey was sitting in his vehicle when he was approached by an unknown vehicle.
An armed individual exited that vehicle and opened fire, striking Jeffrey multiple times in the face and body.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene, where Jeffrey was pronounced dead. He was discovered inside his vehicle with his two young children, ages 4 and 6, who were unharmed.
Both children were transported to Stroger Hospital for precautionary evaluation.
The shooting took place in the parking lot of a Little Caesars restaurant, where investigators recovered multiple shell casings and placed numerous evidence markers on the ground.
As of Friday evening, no suspects are in custody, and detectives from the CPD Area Four Homicide Unit are leading the investigation. Police have not released information on a possible motive.
Authorities are urging anyone with information about this homicide to contact Chicago Police or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTip.com.