Fact Check: Has Donald Trump's Plane Been Grounded 'Indefinitely'?

A tweet claiming that former President Donald Trump's private plane has been grounded "indefinitely" has gone viral on social media, with many discussing the credibility of the claim and some calling it "too good to be true."

According to the claim, Trump's plane would have been grounded because of some alleged espionage charges "which carry life in prison or death" filed against him and the increased risk that the former president would flee the country to avoid prosecution.

There are currently several criminal and civil investigations ongoing into Trump and his business activities, including the Department of Justice's national-level investigation into the classified documents found at the former president's Florida estate Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

Jack Smith, an independent prosecutor at the DOJ, was named as the special counsel in charge of the case. Though not much is known about how Smith is proceeding in his investigation, PBS reported in March that possible charges include the mishandling of and unauthorized retention of national security documents, and obstruction, as the former president could be accused of knowing he had records that the government was trying to get a hold of.

The warrant used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 detailed three criminal laws, including the Espionage Act—which criminalizes the unauthorized retention of national security secrets—obstruction and a ban on the willful and unlawful concealment, removal, mutilation, falsification or destruction of government documents.

The Claim

"BREAKING NEWS: FOX News reports Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg citing eminent [likely meaning imminent] espionage charges which carry life in prison or death & an increased flight risk to avoid prosecution has grounded Donald Trumps jet indefinitely," Staff Sergeant Johnson, a social media user, wrote in a Twitter post published on Sunday, June 4.

"The FAA Fla, Palm Beach office is on high alert," they added. The tweet has since been viewed by over 350,000 people on the social media platform.

In another tweet shortly following the first one, the same account published: "BREAKING NEWS: Tonight on Hannity Pete Buttigieg gets asked the tough question, 'Rumors are swirling on Twitter that you have grounded Donald J Trumps airplane. Mr Secretary, the American people deserve to know the truth, can you confirm that Trumps jet is grounded, yes or no.'"

Below, was a composite image showing Fox News host Sean Hannity on one side and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on the other.

While many saw this as an attempt at satire, others appeared to take the claim seriously. "Transportation Department doesn't make that call," wrote one user. "Has anyone considered Trump has planted/made up such an absurd lie (told Hannity) as an excuse because his plane is out of commission for another reason?"

"Someone's getting arrested imminently," wrote another, who added they hoped the claim was true.

"Is it parody imitating life or life imitating parody?," asked another.

The Facts

Staff Sergeant Johnson's Twitter account is, by its own admission, a "parody account." Its owner, who goes under the Twitter handle of @PatMaguire10, describes themselves as "the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude."

In the Twitter profile description, Staff Sergeant Johnson says that they "get great delight trolling the GOP chucklef****," making it clear that the account is dedicated to mocking Republicans.

As many pointed out on Twitter, Hannity does not air on Sunday evenings, when the tweet claimed Buttigieg was challenged by the Fox News television host after being invited as a guest on his show (something that has also never happened).

There are also no reports that Trump has been charged with espionage or any other new charge following his indictment in late March by a Manhattan grand jury.

On March 30, Trump became the first president—former or current—to be charged with criminal activity after pleading not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records for his alleged involvement in hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen.

The Ruling

False. It is highly unlikely at this time that Trump's personal Boeing 757 plane has been grounded, and the news reported on Twitter is clearly not true.

The rumor was first circulated by a parody account which claimed that the information was sourced from an episode of Fox's Sean Hannity's Hannity show aired on Sunday June 4, but the show doesn't air on Sunday evenings.

It's not the first time that the former president plane, a Boeing 757 that bears Trump's name in huge capital letters on its side, is the object of rumors and speculation on social media.

In March, Trump's plane was rumored to have been impounded as the former president had been deemed a "flight risk" in the investigation into allegations of hush-money payments in New York. The claim was also proven to be false.

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK