On August 5, 2024, a mug shot many claimed to depict Minnesota Governor Tim Walz – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate in the 2024 presidential election – went viral. One post on X received more than 27.6 million views, as of this writing.
Multiple readers reached out to us, questioning the authenticity of the photo. "I first saw this claim on Twitter/X and thought the mug shot photo looked weird but wasn't sure if that was a sign of an edited photo or changes in mug shots in 28 years," one wrote. "I tried to look up to see if there was an reputable news articles or any coverage of this in his prior elections but only found right-leaning, low credibility websites reporting it," another wrote.
We looked into the claim, and found that the mug shot was authentic. The Dawes County Sheriff's Office, who arrested Walz in 1995 for drunk driving, confirmed it via email. Their statement and full news release read as follows:
On Saturday September 23, 1995, Timothy James Walz, Current Governor of Minnesota, was arrested by the Nebraska State Patrol for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. Mr. Walz was charged with DUI and booked into the Dawes County Jail, he was later released on bond.
(Dawes County Sheriff's Office)
At the time of his arrest, Walz was working as a high school teacher and football coach in Nebraska. According to the police report, on September 23, 1995, at approximately 9:30 p.m., the officer recorded Walz going 96 mph in a 55 mph zone. "A strong odor of alcoholic beverage was detected emitting from Mr. Walz breath and person," the report read. After failing both the field sobriety test and a preliminary breath test, Walz was taken to the hospital to get a blood test before they transported him to the Dawes County Jail. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving. According to Alpha News-sourced court transcripts, Walz immediately reported the incident to his high school principal and offered to resign, but the principal talked him out of it. Walz paid $200 in fines.
(Alpha News)
We reached out to Walz's office seeking comment, and will update this story if we receive a response.
In sum, because the county responsible for arresting Walz confirmed the photo's authenticity, we rate this claim "True."