Who Is Cory Carnley? 'The_Donald' User's Undocumented Immigrant Classmate Controversy Explained

News of Donald Trump's Indictment this week unearthed some classic online shenanigans from the heyday of his reign as United States President. Trump's Make America Great Again campaign championed isolationist and anti-immigrant policies that his followers were happy to help enforce. But not everyone agreed with the program.

Here's a recap of how a high-school-aged Trump supporter got himself expelled from his school for posting to /r/The_Donald about how he reported a classmate to U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE.

What Was The Initial /r/The_Donald Post?

Sometime in early 2018, a Redditor by the username /u/ChipperLockPicker posted an unfortunate-looking photo to the subreddit /r/The_Donald, a forum popular with supporters of ex-President Donald Trump. The image showed a young white teen wearing a MAGA hat and grinning with a pipe clenched between his teeth. In the photo, he can be seen holding up his hands in an "okay" gesture and standing in front of a regal-looking portrait of Donald Trump dressed like a military commander.

The photo was posted with the caption, "MFW I report an illegal who goes to my school to ICE."

What Was The Response To Cory Carnley's /r/The_Donald Post?

The post gathered significant traction on the subreddit, initially from people in complete support of /u/ChipperLockPicker. However, more views and engagement drew the attention of detractors who found Cory's claim to be damning evidence of discrimination and racism.

Most users warning /u/ChipperLockPicker against keeping his post up seemed to be noting the real prospect of him getting himself doxxed. Other users noted that /u/ChipperLockPicker had a history of posting racist and anti-Semitic opinions on his account, both things that would get him in hot water IRL.

Who Identified The Redditor As Cory Carnley?

After /u/ChipperLockPicker's post began gaining traction even outside the Trump subreddit, a Babe.net article identified him as a student in Gainsville, Florida, Cory Carnley. Moreover, the article published a host of offensive comments also made by the same Reddit account, eventually leading to the student's expulsion from his public school. Here's a statement from his then-Principal:

"I could not disagree more with the ideas in these posts. They certainly do not represent our school's culture. GHS is a wonderfully diverse school where students come together and do amazing things. One student does not speak for 1,800 classmates. While this is an extremely unfortunate situation, I hope it will also serve as a learning opportunity for our students."

For the full history of the event, be sure to check out our entry on it here for even more information.