Monica Keasler became an unwitting target of the internet's wrath after she was named as the person who allegedly tipped off New York wildlife officials about the Instagram-famous pet Peanut the Squirrel. The pet was euthanized after it was seized from its upstate New York home on October 30. Keasler was slammed with hundreds of thousands of hateful messages from social media users who were out to avenge the squirrel's euthanization.
The barrage of vitriolic comments directed at Keasler prompted the owner of the pet to implore people to cease the harassment of individuals without concrete evidence to back up the claims. However, shortly before, the owner, Mark Longo, also shared a story accusing Monica Keasler of reporting on his squirrel. Longo shared the screenshots of messages that alleged Keasler confessed online to tipping off officials about the squirrel.
However, after a social media user, Joe, pointed out the confession stemmed from a fake TikTok account created just hours after Keasler’s name began floating around the internet, Longo deleted the Instagram story that urged people to remember Keasler’s name as he investigated the incident. The since-deleted story, from Mark Longo with a message identifying Monica Keasler, said:
"On Monday, will be filing a motion to get the names of the complainant's name who did this, so keep this name (Monica Keasler) in mind when the details come out. There will be a major lawsuit into this."
Despite deleting the post, the initial accusation triggered a wave of backlash against Monica Keasler. This prompted Mark Longo to take to social media, along with his wife, and implore netizens to stop spreading misinformation without concrete evidence. He said:
“Let’s not falsify and ruin somebody else’s life. Before you go and target another person let’s get the facts first. Let’s make sure we are not hurting somebody else’s life.” He added, “Even when we do find out who it is, let’s make sure to understand what their position was before we go after them.”
Did Monica Keasler report Peanut the Squirrel? Online claims explored
It all began when Peanut The Squirrel was seized by The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) from an upstate New York home after they were notified of a potentially unsafe house housing the pet. The agency said they euthanized Peanut the Squirrel after he bit an official involved in the seizure.
Shortly after, Peanut’s owner, Mark Longo, took to social media and accused the agency of using excessive force when they seized the pet along with a raccoon on October 30, 2024. He also vowed to take legal action in a social media post, triggering a wave of outrage against anyone involved in the euthanization of the pets.
Social media users quickly began to speculate about the identity of the individual or individuals involved in tipping off officials about the squirrel. Shortly after, a verified social media user, Sarah Fields, who claims to be an investigative journalist on X, with over 200,000 followers, shared a post identifying Monica Keasler as the person who notified DEC about the pets. Fields also identified Keasler’s hometown in a post that has been deleted.
Several social media users claimed Keasler allegedly posted a confession on her social media account before taking it down in the wake of backlash.
In response to people demanding evidence of the said confession, an alleged fake TikTok account purporting to be Keasler was created on November 3, 2024. The account contains only one post with an alleged confession. A social media user, Joe, who pointed out the account was fake, said:
“The #monicakeasler situation gets more out of hand. While some people were realizing there was 0 evidence of her posts, someone made a fake TikTok with this post and “California Girls” playing in the background 3 hours ago that is now being used as evidence.”
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The fake TikTok account bio with only one post said “Kamala 2024,” prompting social media users to label her a liberal and turning the squirrel’s death into a flashpoint of the election. JD Vance Donald Trump's running mate told a rally Trump was “fired up” about the squirrel’s death. Several Republicans have also spoken out about the squirrel's death blaming the current government's policies.
However, there is no evidence to support that Monica Keasler reported Peanut The Squirrel to DEC, other than social media users accusing the woman without any proof.
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