“Covid 19 imported virus from Chy-na” reads the racist shirt in the photo posted April 2, 2020.
Although the account that posted it was deleted, CNN was able to access the photos via a cached copy. The name on the Facebook account matches Jay Baker and claims that the person is an employee of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s office.
The Daily Beast was the first to report on the racist shirt photo. They also reported that the account had posted photos of Baker in uniform, with his name tag visible.
When contacted by CNN about the post, Baker told CNN, “No additional comment.”
“Love my shirt,” reads the shirt’s photo caption. It then encourages others to buy their own shirts and says, “Buy yours while they last.” CNN contacted the store that sold the shirts, but did not receive an immediate response.
CNN also contacted Facebook to see if they deleted the account, or if it was the user who did but did not receive a response.
This allegation comes as criticism of Baker’s description of the actions of Robert Aaron Long, who was suspected of the spa shooting, continues to grow on Tuesday.
“He was quite fed up and had been a bit on the end of his rope,” Baker said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.”