White House Posts Pumpkin Image and Fraud Accusations Ahead of Midterms
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins shared images of a man accused of SNAP fraud, drawing criticism as federal agencies intensify immigration enforcement.
By Charles Reed ·
The U.S. government's official social media accounts have drawn fresh criticism for posting images that critics describe as inflammatory in the days leading up to the midterm elections.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted a photo on X on Saturday showing a Black man standing before stacks of U.S. currency. The image included the text SNAP FRAUDSTER, a reference to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The man held a bill that appeared to be on fire.
The caption read: Some costumes come with a price tag. This one comes with a prison sentence. The background featured packaging resembling that of Spirit Halloween. Another post from the White House account on X showed a pumpkin carved with a sombrero design and the text Spooky szn is here.
Rollins, who was nominated by President Trump in November 2024, appears to have sourced the image from an Instagram post by an account named Shawty Dred from September 2025.
Mercedes Reshard New, a social media personality known as Shawty Dred, was arrested on federal charges in October for fraudulently obtaining more than $4 million in SNAP benefits in Georgia. Federal prosecutors stated that New controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts using stolen identities between January 2020 and July 2026.
Prosecutors said New used EBT debit cards to extract the funds and applied his company, Shawty Dred LLC, to become an authorized SNAP retailer. New was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 7 on counts of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, SNAP fraud, and illegal transactions with access devices. He was arrested on October 13 and remains in federal custody.
The timing of the posts coincides with a broader government push to demonstrate aggressive immigration enforcement and a crackdown on fraud. Officials have emphasized saving taxpayer money as healthcare costs and other economic factors make affordability a primary concern for voters.
This is not the first instance of the White House posting controversial images. During a government shutdown more than a year ago, the administration shared a deepfake video of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a fake mustache and sombrero. Jeffries called the meme bigoted. Vice President JD Vance promised the sombrero memes would stop once Democrats agreed to end the shutdown.
In recent weeks, the administration has increased anti-immigrant rhetoric and fraud accusations. This includes the search of the Washington, D.C. home of Rep. Ilhan Omar by federal agents earlier this month as part of an investigation into her family's immigration paperwork. The government has also taken punitive steps against California and Minnesota, whose governors accused federal authorities of targeting their states for political reasons.
The NAACP, the White House, and Rollins did not respond to requests for comment. Joseph Austin, the federal defender representing New, did not return a phone message. According to Fulton County jail records, New has been arrested multiple times on suspicion of crimes including identity theft, insurance fraud, and simple assault.
