A Halloween post by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins drew racism accusations after she shared it on X Saturday; she later identified its subject as Shawty Dred, a social media personality indicted in an alleged food-assistance fraud case, The Independent reported Sunday.
The newspaper described the design as a Halloween costume kit bearing the label “SNAP fraudster.” It paired cash imagery with a depiction of a Black man; fake grills, an EBT card and handcuffs appeared among the accessories. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the U.S. food-assistance program.
Rollins’ original caption warned people stealing from taxpayers that the costume “comes with a prison sentence.” In a later X message, she identified the figure as Shawty Dred and told critics, “Please do your homework.” She attached an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), The Independent reported.
The outlet said the announcement accused Dred of taking more than $4 million intended for poor families. It also reported that he was indicted the previous month in an alleged SNAP fraud case. Views of the post topped 2 million, and thousands of comments followed, according to The Independent. It said many commenters criticized the image as offensive, while conservative defenders argued that it depicted a real person charged with fraud.
Pew Research Center, citing U.S. Census Bureau data, reported that non-Hispanic white people accounted for 37.4% of SNAP recipients in 2023, compared with 28.7% who were Black. EconoTimes previously covered racism complaints over Rollins’ SNAP image and a separate White House pumpkin post.
Virginia Rep. James Walkinshaw responded with a mock costume image of President Donald Trump, depicting him as a “convicted fraudster” in reference to Trump’s 34 felony convictions, The Independent reported. Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown called Rollins’ image “despicable” and “disgusting,” the newspaper said. Brown said she wanted an explanation when Rollins appears before the Agriculture Committee in January.
