Claim:
An image authentically depicts the mug shot taken of Tim Walz after he was arrested on a drunken-driving charge in 1995.
Rating:
True ( About this rating? )
In August 2024, an image many people claimed depicted the mug shot of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 presidential election — surfaced on the internet, quickly going viral. One post ( archived ) on X received more than 28.3 million views, as of this writing:
Multiple readers reached out to us to ask about the authenticity of the photo. "I first saw this claim on Twitter/X and thought the mug shot photo looked weird but wasn't sure if that was a sign of an edited photo or changes in mug shots in 28 years," one wrote. "I tried to look up to see if there was an reputable news articles or any coverage of this in his prior elections but only found right-leaning, low credibility websites reporting it," said another.
We looked into the picture and found that the it was truly authentic. The Dawes County Sheriff's Office, which arrested Walz in 1995 on a DUI charge, confirmed it via email. Their statement read as follows:
On Saturday September 23, 1995, Timothy James Walz, Current Governor of Minnesota, was arrested by the Nebraska State Patrol for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. Mr. Walz was charged with DUI and booked into the Dawes County Jail, he was later released on bond.
(Dawes County Sheriff's Office)
At the time of his arrest, Walz was working as a high school teacher and football coach in Nebraska. According to the police report , on September 23, 1995, at approximately 9:30 p.m., the officer recorded Walz going 96 mph in a 55 mph zone. "A strong odor of alcoholic beverage was detected emitting from Mr. Walz breath and person," the report read. After failing both the field sobriety test and a preliminary breath test, Walz was taken to the hospital to get a blood test before authorities took him to the Dawes County Jail.
Walz later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving. According to court transcripts , he immediately reported the incident to his high school principal and offered to resign, but the principal talked him out of it. Walz paid $200 in fines.
(Alpha News)
We reached out to Walz's office seeking comment, and will update this story if we receive a response.
Sources:
Bensinger, Ken. 'Walz's Decades-Old Drunken Driving Arrest Draws New Attention'. The New York Times , 6 Aug. 2024. NYTimes.com , https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/us/politics/tim-walz-dui.html.
Caralle, Katelyn. 'How Kamala Harris VP Pick Tim Walz's Drunk Driving Changed His Life'. Mail Online , 6 Aug. 2024, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13714631/tim-walz-kamala-harris-vp-pick-dui-arrest.html.
Fiallo, Josh. 'Republicans Resurface Tim Walz' 1995 Mugshot as Attacks Heat Up'. The Daily Beast , 6 Aug. 2024. www.thedailybeast.com , https://www.thedailybeast.com/tim-walz-old-mugshot-circulates-after-harris-picks-him-for-vp-ticket.
Gockowski, Anthony. 'Court Transcript Sheds New Light on Walz's DUI Arrest'. Alpha News , 11 Oct. 2022, https://alphanews.org/court-transcript-sheds-new-light-on-walzs-dui-arrest/.
Nesi, Chris. Tim Walz's Past DUI Arrest for Driving 96 Mph in a 55 Zone Comes Back to Haunt VP Pick . 6 Aug. 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/08/06/us-news/tim-walz-past-dui-arrest-for-driving-96-mph-in-a-55-zone-comes-back-to-haunt-vp-pick/.
- YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jnn64WRJYk . Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.
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