35) In conclusion, it appears either Duke himself or someone else posted a false obituary claiming he died on the day of last contact with his former militia comrades.

Duke did not respond to my requests for comment.

web.archive.org/web/2024040317…

34) Finally, I called the Virginia Northern District Medical Examiner's Office, who confirmed that no deceased person named Russell Richardson Vane IV had been examined by them, which would be necessary in an unexpected death in Vienna, Virginia.

33) I called Duke's friend (his real name is not Pepe) who confirmed 'He's fine.'

'He and I are very good friends, and if something happened, I would know.'

He confirmed he's seen Duke alive since March 11.

(I recorded this call but will only share with other media).

32) On December 5, Duke attempted to bring a new member into the group. ICE provided me with an additional screenshot including that person's number, calling him Pepe.

As a private citizen, I won't publicly ID him. However, I called him. See next tweet.
twitter.com/FordFischer/st…

31) Minutes from the obituary's publication, one condolence occurred in the name 'Pepe Montoya.'

Duke had used the character of Pepe the frog as his avatar.

However, there was another 'Pepe.' See next tweet.

30) The obituary claims that memorial services were held at the PW Park on March 20th, and his ashes were placed near Chopawamsic Creek (behind Quantico).

A PW Park Ranger by phone confirmed no such ceremony occurred, although he couldn't rule out a family hiking to place ashes.

29) Russell Vane IV aka Duke read Eddie Ray aka ICE's final message to him at 8:29am March 11, the day of his death per the obituary.

However, his Facebook profile picture (redaction mine) changed on April 1, the day of my reporting.

'So adorable!' wrote his mother Linda.

28) While the photo and family information are accurate, 'Russell struggled with a disability that impacted his brain and perception of reality' is a bizarre line to include in an obituary, paired with no mention of his military service, which I've confirmed in court records.

27) BIZARRE UPDATE: Yesterday, April 3, an obituary for Russell Richardson Vane IV appeared online, claiming he had died on March 11, 2024, the day after he was formally kicked out of the Virginia Kekoas.

However, some things struck me as odd.

legacy.com/us/obituaries/…

26) The Virginia Kekoas The Virginia Kekoas have released a statement in response to the publication of my News2Share story about their situation.

twitter.com/VirginiaKekoas…

Small addendum: You may have noticed in one shot from the school board protest, Duke appears to have a facial tattoo.

ICE clarified to me in a phone call last night that in addition to wearing masks, Duke would apply fake temporary tattoos to throw off those who would ID him.

24) Here is my full write-up on News2Share chronologically detailing the events leading up to the expulsion of a member of the Virginia Kekoas militia.

The receipts are linked throughout the piece.

news2share.com/start/2024/04/…

News2Share 23) In response to my reporting, Mike Dunn just sent me a screenshot from March 10 of him apparently talking to Duke.

'I am not in law enforcement, informant or a lawyer and under no circumstances would I be responsible either directly or indirectly for any militia member

22) My full interview with ICE and Sasquatch and all of the relevant evidence obtained thus far can be viewed here on the News2Share YouTube.

As always, all my footage is available to license.

youtube.com/watch?v=dmbd3v…

21) I made several attempts to reach out to Russell Richardson Vane IV for comment in the weeks since recording this interview, including by email, text, Signal message, and phone call.

All messages went unanswered, although Signal confirmed my messages there were received.

20) 'He could be a fed,' explained Sasquatch, who also speculated that Duke may have been 'just somebody who's trying to fit in who's not very smart.'

Sasquatch added that alternatively, he could be 'one of those Timothy McVeigh types.'

'If he's trying to set me up, joke's on

19) 'We don't want to be a fed plot,' ICE explained.

After kicking out Duke, ICE sent a followup message which he says didn't deliver.

He then sent another explaining the reasons for kicking out Duke to a phone number previously used by Duke, ICE says the message was received

18) Preacher then confronted Duke privately, according to additional screenshots provided to News2Share.

Duke appears to deny elements of his alleged conversations with the group while dismissing others as inspirations for a work of fiction.

Preacher ultimately tells Duke he's

17) On March 10, according to screenshots provided by ICE, Duke followed up all of this activity by again requesting to form a new chapter of the Kekoas.

ICE says he learned of the documents given to Sasquatch and removed Duke from all the group's chats that day.

16) Chronologically, on March 9 according to ICE and Sasquatch, Duke would have known at the time that he allegedly discussed Russians and presidential assassinations that Sasquatch would later discover the explosives documents he'd handed him earlier.

twitter.com/FordFischer/st…