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The catchphrase “Release the Kraken” is trending on Twitter after Trump's legal adviser, Sidney Powell, who made unfounded allegations of fraud in connection to the 2020 presidential election, pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from the Georgia election interference case.
In 2020, during an interview with Fox News host Lou Dobbs, Sidney Powell made unfounded allegations of voter fraud in the presidential election. She claimed that Trump’s team had amassed sizable evidence that would overturn the election results in key states.
While threatening to unleash the alleged evidence that Powell claimed would potentially topple President Joe Biden’s victory, she went on to assert that “I’m going to release the Kraken,” in reference to a catchphrase from the 1981 movie “The Clash of the Titans.”
In the movie, the Kraken is a mythical sea monster that rises from the ocean to annihilate its enemies. At the time, Powell claimed that the case she was building against Biden was akin to a Kraken when unleashed, would destroy his victory in the US presidential election.
Shortly after, the catchphrase began trending on Twitter as conservatives and conspiracy theorists began using it to signal voter fraud conspiracy in the presidential election.
However, when the documents were released, their contents failed to live up to the hype as they consisted of baseless conspiracy theories rejected by the court due to a lack of substantial evidence.
In the wake of Powell's plea deal where she seemingly agreed to flip on Trump, the phrase once again appeared on Twitter’s trending topics list on Thursday, October 19, 2023. However, this time netizens wielded the phrase to deride Powell who seemingly admitted to stirring up voter fraud conspiracy theories.
Netizens react as Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case
Sydney Powell, who is among the 18 defendants charged in August 2023 in the plot to overturn the Georgia state’s election results alongside the former president, has reportedly accepted a plea deal.
According to the Associated Press, as part of the deal, Powell agreed to testify against the co-defendants and Trump. She also agreed to write a letter apologizing to Georgia citizens for aggressively pushing several conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results, stating that she would release the Kraken.
In the wake of the plea deal, Sidney Powell released the Kraken memes that erupted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Netizens derided Trump’s former legal adviser. A netizen quipped:
“Sidney Powell just cut a plea deal and I am Kraken the hell up!”
Another praised the Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, who bought the charges against Powell, saying the former released the Kraken.
“It was Fani Willis, not Sidney Powell, who released the “Kraken”.'
Several others posted memes mocking Trump’s legal adviser, who years after peddling unfounded conspiracy theories, seemingly accepted defeat.
Sydney Powell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor charges. As part of her plea deal where she agreed to testify against Trump and co-defendants, Powell will reportedly be sentenced to 12 months of probation for each count and charged a $6,000 fine.
