In May, American YouTuber and columnist Gonzalo Lira was arrested in Ukraine because he “publicly justified” the Russian invasion, according to a press release by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The statement from Kiev said that Lira “has the citizenship of one of the countries of Latin America” but omitted that he is also California-born U.S. citizen, as ZeroHedge contributor Space Worm reported at the time.
Following his release, Lira said he was tortured in a Ukrainian prison, explaining that "two thugs held my head and used a toothpick to scratch the whites of my left eye, while asking me if I could still read if I had just one." Lira informed followers that he was making a mad-dash via motorcycle towards the Hungarian border:
Right now, I'm about to try to get out of Ukraine, and seek political asylum in Hungary.
— Gonzalo Lira (@GonzaloLira1968) July 31, 2023
Either I'll cross the border and make it to safety, or I'll be disappeared by the Kiev regime.
This is what's happened to me over the past three months.
1/25
Grayzone reporter Liam Cosgrove pressed State Department spox Matthew Miller on the issue, asking how the Biden Administration has allowed an American to be tortued by a closely allied nation:
The Grayzone’s @cosgrove_iv asked @StateDeptSpox today about the status of Gonzalo Lira, the US citizen who was jailed by the Ukrainian govt for challenging its official narrative of the war and whose Twitter account now claims he’s making a break for the Hungarian border pic.twitter.com/kc7NY6hkdt
— The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) August 1, 2023
Even more damning about Miller's non-answer is that 3 months prior, Miller admitted that the State Department was aware of Lira's imprisonment and plead the Fifth when asked whether the administration planned to advocate for his release:
State Department refuses to say whether it will negotiate with Zelensky for the release of detained U.S. citizen Gonzalo Lira: pic.twitter.com/jTD58XjYnw
— Liam Cosgrove (@cosgrove_iv) May 28, 2023
Tucker and Elon sound the alarm
In a Saturday post on X, Tucker Carlson highlighted Lira's situation and spoke with the journalist's father. Carlson asked why the Biden administration is allowing this, and questioned what kind of country Ukraine is for doing this to an American simply for criticizing the government.
In response, Elon Musk asked: "An American citizen is in prison n Ukraine after we sent over a $100 billion?" adding, "Is there more to this story than simply criticizing Zelensky?"
"If that’s all it is, then we have serious problem here."
An American citizen is in prison n Ukraine after we sent over a $100 billion?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2023
Is there more to this story than simply criticizing Zelensky?
If that’s all it is, then we have serious problem here.
Yep. Saying unapproved things. That’s his crime.
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 10, 2023
Musk then directly asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to explain...
President @ZelenskyyUa, please educate the American people about this matter
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2023
Which reminds us, 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pointed out that Ukraine is an extremely corrupt country.
You know what’s naive? Those who claim that Ukraine is a paragon of “democracy” in a battle of good vs. evil. Here’s the TRUTH about the Zelensky regime:
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 7, 2023
- Banned 11 opposition parties
- Recently assassinated a 2019 Ukrainian Presidential candidate ⁰-Consolidated all TV media… pic.twitter.com/JUqPrzxC8K
Is the worm turning?
Elon is asking the question that US politicians don’t dare to ask. Good.
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) December 9, 2023
We need an answer immediately. We gave you so much money and you hold one of us like this?
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) December 9, 2023
What happened next? https://t.co/FRzKw5bNsb
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) December 10, 2023
Gonzalo wasn’t a gay female basketball player so the US State dept didn’t care
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) December 10, 2023
he might ask few billions from you instead
— The White Rabbit 🐇 (@WR_Samurai) December 9, 2023
In May, American YouTuber and columnist Gonzalo Lira was arrested in Ukraine because he “publicly justified” the Russian invasion, according to a press release by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The statement from Kiev said that Lira “has the citizenship of one of the countries of Latin America” but omitted that he is also California-born U.S. citizen, as ZeroHedge contributor Space Worm reported at the time.
Following his release, Lira said he was tortured in a Ukrainian prison, explaining that “two thugs held my head and used a toothpick to scratch the whites of my left eye, while asking me if I could still read if I had just one.” Lira informed followers that he was making a mad-dash via motorcycle towards the Hungarian border:
Right now, I’m about to try to get out of Ukraine, and seek political asylum in Hungary.
Either I’ll cross the border and make it to safety, or I’ll be disappeared by the Kiev regime.
This is what’s happened to me over the past three months.
1/25
— Gonzalo Lira (@GonzaloLira1968) July 31, 2023
Grayzone reporter Liam Cosgrove pressed State Department spox Matthew Miller on the issue, asking how the Biden Administration has allowed an American to be tortued by a closely allied nation:
The Grayzone’s @cosgrove_iv asked @StateDeptSpox today about the status of Gonzalo Lira, the US citizen who was jailed by the Ukrainian govt for challenging its official narrative of the war and whose Twitter account now claims he’s making a break for the Hungarian border pic.twitter.com/kc7NY6hkdt
— The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) August 1, 2023
Even more damning about Miller’s non-answer is that 3 months prior, Miller admitted that the State Department was aware of Lira’s imprisonment and plead the Fifth when asked whether the administration planned to advocate for his release:
State Department refuses to say whether it will negotiate with Zelensky for the release of detained U.S. citizen Gonzalo Lira: pic.twitter.com/jTD58XjYnw
— Liam Cosgrove (@cosgrove_iv) May 28, 2023
Tucker and Elon sound the alarm
In a Saturday post on X, Tucker Carlson highlighted Lira’s situation and spoke with the journalist’s father. Carlson asked why the Biden administration is allowing this, and questioned what kind of country Ukraine is for doing this to an American simply for criticizing the government.
In response, Elon Musk asked: “An American citizen is in prison n Ukraine after we sent over a $100 billion?” adding, “Is there more to this story than simply criticizing Zelensky?”
“If that’s all it is, then we have serious problem here.”
An American citizen is in prison n Ukraine after we sent over a $100 billion?
Is there more to this story than simply criticizing Zelensky?
If that’s all it is, then we have serious problem here.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2023
Yep. Saying unapproved things. That’s his crime.
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 10, 2023
Musk then directly asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to explain…
President @ZelenskyyUa, please educate the American people about this matter
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2023
Which reminds us, 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pointed out that Ukraine is an extremely corrupt country.
You know what’s naive? Those who claim that Ukraine is a paragon of “democracy” in a battle of good vs. evil. Here’s the TRUTH about the Zelensky regime:
– Banned 11 opposition parties
– Recently assassinated a 2019 Ukrainian Presidential candidate ⁰-Consolidated all TV media… pic.twitter.com/JUqPrzxC8K— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 7, 2023
Is the worm turning?
Elon is asking the question that US politicians don’t dare to ask. Good.
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) December 9, 2023
We need an answer immediately. We gave you so much money and you hold one of us like this?
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) December 9, 2023
What happened next? https://t.co/FRzKw5bNsb
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) December 10, 2023
Gonzalo wasn’t a gay female basketball player so the US State dept didn’t care
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) December 10, 2023
he might ask few billions from you instead
— The White Rabbit 🐇 (@WR_Samurai) December 9, 2023
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