A transgender Black Hawk pilot for the Virginia Army National Guard spoke out on Saturday after she was falsely accused of being behind the controls of a helicopter that collided with an American Airlines flight on Wednesday.
Rumors swirled about Jo Ellis following the crash near Washington, D.C., and a campaign of hate was amplified when President Donald Trump attributed the crash to DEI policies.
Ellis told CNN’s Michael Smerconish that she “was not surprised by the hate.”
“This is my reality and now that I’m more visible, more comes,” she said.
Asked about whether President Donald Trump’s comments on DEI and the crash were partially responsible for the frenzy, Ellis said they were triggering an anti-trans backlash.
“I’ve heard anecdotes from many in the trans community saying they have been targeted since the comments of the president,” Ellis, who has served in the military for 15 years, said. “This is really putting people’s lives at risk.”
Ellis also spoke out against an order from the White House putting her and other transgender service members at risk of losing their jobs, telling Smerconish she “believe[s] in a meritocracy.”
“I have met all the standards to serve. I came out while it was allowed and part of policy,” she said. “In my mind, I still meet those standards today.”
Ellis’ initial response to the rumors was a “proof-of-life” video on social media. In the clip shared Friday, she called out the attempts to tie her to the crash.
“It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this,” Ellis said.
The incident wasn’t the first time the far-right tried to pin blame for an incident on transgender women. Last year, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones attempted to pin a Trump assassination attempt on a transgender woman. Before that, a GOP congressman Paul Gosar baselessly accused a trans woman of being behind a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
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