By Morgan Kendrick | New York, NY
Cole Bolton, editor in chief of The Onion, and several other staff members were removed from their New York offices today and arrested for distributing purportedly “leaked” documents from the White House. Over the weekend, dozens of supposedly leaked documents were placed on The Onions website, claiming that the documents came from informants within the White House. These documents were meant to be taken as satirical, but the Department of Justice has another interpretation.
Joan Loughnane, Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney, brought charges against Bolton and other members of The Onion for violating the Stopping Hate in Its Tracks Executive Order (SHIT E.O. #108763)) signed by the president earlier this year. Under the SHIT E.O., satire has been made illegal and classified as hate speech. For their violations of the new law, Bolton and Company could face up to 10 years in federal prison. “We’ve got to stop these haters. They’ve been going on for far too long creating their fake news with impunity. We’re going to put a stop to all of that with this SHIT E.O.,” explained Loughnane.
The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the case of defending The Onion from these and any further charges that may come from the SHIT E.O., but could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.