How Peanut the Squirrel became the center of a MAGA firestorm

A decision by New York wildlife officials to release a squirrel named P’Nut who was popular on social media has set off a stormy response from prominent MAGA Republicans who claim government embezzlement.

The owner of P’Nut or Peanut, Mark Longo, 34, was devastated last week when New York state officials arrested and euthanized Peanut along with Fred, a raccoon Longo had rescued. Authorities arrived at her home in Pine City, New York, after an anonymous complaint about the animals’ living conditions.

The two animals were featured on the Instagram account @peanut_the_squirrel12, which currently has 692,000 followers. Longo had cared for Peanut for seven years after he rescued the squirrel after seeing its mother get hit by a car in New York City. Longo’s Instagram page includes videos of squirrels doing tricks.

On Friday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), part of the state government, and the Chemung County Health Department said. Newsweek that on October 30 “DEC caught a raccoon and a squirrel sharing a home with people, making people more likely to be exposed to rabies. In addition, the person involved in the investigation was bitten by a squirrel. test for rabies, both animals were euthanized.. The animals are being tested for rabies and anyone who has come into contact with these animals is strongly encouraged to contact their veterinarian.”

They added: “The Chemung County Health Department and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are coordinating to ensure the protection of public health related to wildlife ownership. that have the potential to carry the rabies virus.”

On Sunday, former President Donald Trump’s deputy, Ohio Senator JD Vance, told a crowd at a rally in Sanford, North Carolina, that Trump was “furious” about the squirrel death.

“He was like, ‘You know, is it really true that the Democrats killed Elon Musk of the squirrels?'” Vance added.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who endorsed Trump for president, posted on X, formerly Twitter, his social media platform on Sunday, “Vote For PNut! For Liberty! For Freedom! The post has been viewed more than 33 million times and has received more than 255,000 views as of Monday morning.

On Saturday, Musk wrote in another X post: “The government shouldn’t be allowed to come into your house and kill your pet! That’s messed up. Even if it’s not allowed by it’s illegal to have a pet squirrel (which shouldn’t be), why kill PNut instead of releasing him into the wild!?”

Meanwhile, prominent MAGA Representatives in Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Collins issued warnings at Sunday’s Trump rally in Macon, Georgia, saying the squirrel killing represents government theft, which they say is a sign of the Democratic Party. .

“Trump is fighting public, big government, he’s controlling everything about you, he’s got the government up and running,” Collins told the crowd. “This thing has gotten so bad that they’re killing pets, they’re killing squirrels, they’re killing raccoons.”

Greene added that it shows a double standard from New York officials, who he has seen as tough on pest control while more relaxed on immigration.

“Think about it, the Democrats in New York City, the Democrats in New York City, went in and raided a house to kill a squirrel, they did that, to kill a squirrel, yet it was the same situation of New York allowed the criminal. Illegal immigrants who came to Georgia who killed our Laken Riley.”

However, this incident happened in Pine City, which is about 235 kilometers from New York City.

Newsweek contacted DEC by email for further comment on the insistence.

Longo explained the time the authorities came to his house in a recent interview with Newsweek.

“DEC showed up at my house and gave me a warrant to search for a squirrel and a raccoon,” he said. “They attacked my house like I was a drug dealer or something. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen or seen in my life.”

Longo started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his animal sanctuary P’Nut’s Freedom Farm. The page had raised $162,980 from 3,900 donations as of Monday.

“In memory of Peanut and Fred, we want to shine a light on the mission of P’nuts Freedom Farm, which rescues and provides care for vulnerable animals,” the description reads. “Their lives were an important testimony of compassion and kindness to all creatures, and we intend to honor them by continuing this important work.”