Twitter, Patti Labelle’s MAGA nephew, and the blackfishing republican

Dean Browning, Dan Pury blackfishing
Dean Browning
Dan Browning, former Lehigh County commissioner, proud republican, blackfishing aficionado. Dean Browning
In this latest installment of “this is strange even for 2020,” R&B legend Patti Labelle’s nephew — found himself in the middle of a Twitter blackfishing scandal.

It all started when former Lehigh County commissioner Dean Browning posted on Twitter, “What Trump built in four years, Biden will destroy in 4 months.”

Okay, a typical tweet from a Trump supporter nothing suspicious. But then this twist, Browning responded to his own tweet (seemingly forgetting to switch to a burner account) with the following message: “I’m a black gay guy and I can personally say that Obama did nothing for me, my life only changed a little bit and it was for the worse. Everything is so much better under Trump though. I feel respected — which I never do when democrats are involved.”

Dean Browning Twitter post
Dean Browning blackfishing Twitter post. Dean Browning / Twitter

You can’t tell whether Browning is guy from his Twitter account picture, but it’s easy to tell he is not black. Browning was dragged for the better part of the day on Twitter. He later attempted to clarify the post, saying he was quoting a comment made to him by an actual black guy.

Then the story takes an even stranger twist. A man named Dan Purdy, a black man, comes out of the woodwork on his Twitter feed and says that it was indeed him who made the comments and that somehow (although it’s yet to be explained thoroughly) his comments ended up on Browning’s page and that he is “No one’s sock puppet”. Twitter detectives did some digging and come to find out, “Dan Purdy” is an alias for William Holte who is alleged to be Patti Labelle’s nephew and adopted son.

“Purdy” has said some racist things about black people on his Twitter account, which at one point landed him a suspension.

Holte also goes by the alias Byl Holte on Facebook where he describes himself as a “anti-feminist TV critic”, whatever that means.

Holte is also a big-time Trump supporter who lives in Pennsylvania and has been hiding out under different aliases supporting the soon-to-be ex-president.

None of that explains the connection between Browning and Holte, or if Holte actually did make the original comment. But one thing is certain, there is more to this story than meets the eye.

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