After an unexpected recall and a two-month delay, the book 2,000 Mules, which denies the election results, has made its way to bookstores with a few notable modifications, along with the potential risk of facing legal consequences.
Additionally, the book’s recalled version has also softened certain claims and outright removed the names of the specific nonprofit organizations accused in the book’s recalled version, particularly in a passage that notably linked the Black Lives Matter movement and antifa to election fraud.
The filmmakers have declined to provide key evidence for their public claims, and fact-checkers and law enforcement officials have discredited the allegations made in the film. Mules 2,000 is a film that is based on the same name and alleges a vast left-wing conspiracy between unnamed nonprofit groups, which claims that “mules” were paid to steal and stuff vote-by-mail dropboxes in 2020.
However, 2,000 Mules has continued to have a significant impact on the pro-Trump movement that denies the outcome of the election.
In July, filmmaker and author Dinesh D’Souza stated that the follow-up book to 2,000 Mules would assign names, in accordance with a viewer’s request for additional evidence in the film.
Houses, I am going to reveal several names of these nonprofit organizations,” tweeted D’Souza in July 2020.
The initial version of the book, which was published in August, accuses five individuals, including D’Souza, of using “stash houses” as nonprofit acting groups that are illegal.
NPR managed to find the book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble bookstores. Although they did not catch every copy, they had already reached the book before the release date, when Regnery publisher issued a recall.
D’Souza and Regnery did not provide an explanation for the unexpected recall.
Salem Media, the parent company of Regnery, reduced its projected corporate earnings due to a substantial error. They chose not to provide additional responses and attributed the discrepancy to an unspecified “publishing error”.
“Garbage,” “falsehoods,” and “nonsense” were employed by two out of the five organizations accused by D’Souza of participating in electoral misconduct when NPR reached out to them. One of these groups characterized the accusations as potentially “defamatory.”
“We did not make any such accusations,” the organization stated to NPR in September. “This encompasses any claims regarding the actions of any particular groups mentioned in the book. True the Vote did not contribute to this book, and is unaware of its contents,” the divisive election denial group, which served as the executive producer of the 2,000 Mules film, distanced themselves from the publication.
Now, D’Souza and Regnery have formally published the 2,000 Mules novel, and modified that portion.
D’Souza had previously referred to left-wing nonprofits as “engaging in vote trafficking.”
The recently published book softens that expression to “potentially preserving ballots.”
Additionally, the specific nonprofits that D’Souza accused of election fraud have all been eliminated.
The True Vote writes that authorities have offered to make available the names of their enforcement groups in order to appropriately enforce the law.
One of the named groups in the recalled book was Project Georgia New, which focuses on mobilizing and registering young voters, particularly those of color.
NPR’s spokesperson for the New Georgia Project stated, “We are always pleased when someone who has been discredited takes our name out of their mouths.”
NPR is refraining from mentioning the other groups mentioned in the revised edition of the book, due to the lack of evidence backing up the accusations.
In September, NPR obtained a copy of the Regnery book “Mules 2,000” and asked Spence Thomas, the president of Regnery, about arranging an interview. However, Thomas declined and said, “I would be happy to talk to you more about it.”
“At this juncture, Regnery is not providing any statement regarding the book 2,000 Mules,” Spence stated in an email.
D’Souza did not reply to NPR’s inquiry for a comment.
The official release of the book completely removes the claim that “mules” were able to determine the supposed links between Black Lives Matter movement and antifa.
The book version and film of the said Vote True were recalled due to its connection to the ACLED Project, which uses a database of events and locations related to armed conflicts.
ACLED opposed that portrayal and asked D’Souza for a correction.
The spokesperson for ACLED previously told NPR, “It is highly unlikely that these conclusions have any factual basis, and the type of analysis you can use with ACLED data is not this.” The spokesperson also stated that every reference to ACLED in the recalled version of the book was either misleading or incorrect.
Furthermore, the assertions linking the “mules” to antifa or BLM have now been dismissed. Additionally, several paragraphs that aimed to counter NPR’s previous fact-check on the ACLED data have been eliminated. Not a single mention of ACLED can be found anywhere in the book.
Sam Jones, the head of communications for ACLED, expressed, “The information we have does not validate any of the assertions or deductions that were previously associated with ACLED.” “ACLED asked the publisher to rectify the erroneous citations present in the recalled edition of the book 2,000 Mules, and we are pleased to observe that these references have ultimately been eliminated from the final version of the book.”
The modifications to the book may indicate some apprehension by D’Souza and Regnery regarding potential legal issues.
He said that since the 2020 election, workers and companies in the election technology industry have faced lawsuits and threats of death, which has cost them their livelihoods. He added that prominent election deniers and channels that hosted them have also been involved in this “fight”, with the filmmakers omitting the names of these nonprofits, as per the lawyers’ suggestion.
With regards to the film, particularly concerning the utilization of ballot dropboxes, there is evidence to suggest that 2,000 Mules has prompted skepticism and notions of conspiracy, considering former president Trump’s endorsement.
Authorities in Arizona have potentially issued warnings to people, inspired by the claims in the film, who are surveilling ballot dropboxes and potentially intimidating voters, as referred to by the Department of Justice.