Washington Examiner – by Alana Goodman, Steven Nelson
One of the people President Trump honored for his heroism during a mass shooting in an El Paso Walmart last month was arrested by the Secret Service during his visit to the White House on Monday due to an outstanding criminal warrant, law enforcement officials told the Washington Examiner.
Police say his tale of heroics does not match video evidence. Chris Grant, 50, was shot in the ribs and a kidney during the Aug. 3 rampage that claimed 22 lives. He was not present for a White House ceremony Monday, but his mother Minnie Grant, 82, accepted a signed certificate on his behalf.
Grant said in a series of interviews that he sought to spare fellow shoppers by picking up bottles and throwing them at the gunman, with at least one hitting or nearly striking him. A Gofundme account raised $16,917 on his behalf. Grant was photographed when he arrived at Washington’s Reagan-National Airport and outside the White House with his family.
“Nobody bothered to check with us,” said El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo. “They would have been informed, as I am telling you now, that our detectives reviewed hours of video and his actions did not match his account.” Carrillo said Grant was visible in footage from the store, but he did not say what he was doing during the massacre. “His statements were inconsistent with what was revealed on video,” Carrillo said.
He was arrested by the Secret Service for being a “fugitive from justice,” according to a spokesperson for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
Grant has a criminal record for theft and evading arrest, according to Texas court documents reviewed by the Washington Examiner. He was sentenced to eight months in prison for car theft in March, after pleading guilty to stealing a silver 2009 Mazda 6. In 2016, he pleaded guilty and was also sentenced to 18 days in jail for stealing TVs from a Sears in Richardson, Texas. He pleaded guilty to evading arrest in Collins County in 2016.
A Secret Service spokesperson said: “On Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, a White House visitor with an arrest warrant was temporarily detained by U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers. It was subsequently determined that while the arrest warrant was still active, the agency that issued the warrant would not extradite, at which time the individual was released from Secret Service custody.”
Grant’s account was broadcast to a national audience by CNN host Chris Cuomo last month, before Trump shared the account with a White House audience on Monday.
“To deter him, I started just chucking bottles, I just started throwing bottles, random bottles at him,” Grant told Cuomo. “And I’m not a baseball player, so one went this way, one went that way. And then one went right towards him and then that’s when he saw me … When I got hit, it was like somebody put a hand grenade in my back and pulled the pin.”
In another interview, Grant said he saw the killer allow white and African American shoppers to escape the shop. Alleged shooter Patrick Crusius posted an anti-Hispanic manifesto online before the attack.
Trump marveled at Grant’s heroics in a speech at a White House East Room ceremony, where he honored four other El Paso civilians and six police officers involved in the Dayton, Ohio, shooting a few hours later.
He said: “Chris grabbed — listen to this — soda bottles and anything else in front of him, and began hurling them at the gunman, distracting him from the other shoppers and causing the shooter to turn toward Chris and fire at Chris, whereby Chris suffered two serious gunshot wounds. But he is recovering well, and we wish him the best. His family is here. So please thank Chris for us, please.”
Grant, who said he had been in the Walmart to meet his three children who were flying to El Paso from Plano, where they lived with their mother, was reportedly sedated for two days after the attack and underwent surgery.
Ed Hromatka, Grant’s former father-in-law and grandfather to his children, was quoted as saying that he “does have a strong sense of justice” and asking: “Insane. How can a person possibly go after a guy with an AK-47 with soft drinks?”
Last month, Grant was photographed with Gov. Gregg Abbott of Texas. Earlier, he had joined protesters outside a Texas Safety Commission meeting with Moms Demand Action along with Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso, whom he had invited. “I just want to ask him why we need assault weapons,” Grant said. “I wanted Rep. Escobar to accompany me. Unfortunately, they won’t let her in.”
Asked for his message to the commission and Abbott, Grant added: “What are we waiting for? If they had taken action sooner, maybe before one of the other mass shootings in Texas, this wouldn’t have happened in El Paso.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Grant and members of his family could not be reached for comment.
Watch: Trump commends Grant:
“Nobody bothered to check with us,” said El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo. “They would have been informed, as I am telling you now, that our detectives reviewed hours of video and his actions did not match his account.” Carrillo said Grant was visible in footage from the store, but he did not say what he was doing during the massacre. “His statements were inconsistent with what was revealed on video,” Carrillo said.
MOSSAD/CIA OPERATIVE.
“Insane. How can a person possibly go after a guy with an AK-47 with soft drinks?”
Palestinian.
He mentioned shooting glasses but didn’t mention the ear protection? How about the mexican woman saying there was 3-4 men dressed in black that entered and started shooting?
Lady wasn’t part of the drill so she can only say she saw those guys shooting.
His charges will be dropped for his participation in the event and no doubt, a “go fund me” will put some extra scratch in his pocket.
This is a lousy psyop to give validity to it and this guys ass kissing of wetbacks is to soften the perception of the blow that illegal invaders bring with them. Add the soft cuddly pig with the 10,000 “ums” to the mix and voila, you got a feel good and an enemy to hate(white nationalist) all in one story.
This is ALL absolute HORSE SHITE.
Isn’t it remarkable how fast these people recover and are fit to travel and attend functions right after being SHOT BY A FKING 5.56 or 7.62 ROUND!?
Like the guy who ‘lost’ both legs in Boston, and a mere 6 weeks later was rehabilitated and attended a Boston Bruins game and received a standing ovation?
The nation is lost. People are simply too stupid, and you can’t fix stupid.
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