The Person Behind Trump’s CNN-Punching GIF Is Now Apologizing

The Reddit user who claimed credit for creating the animated GIF showing President Donald Trump body slamming CNN’s logo is apologizing for racist and anti-Semitic comments he reportedly made in the past.

“I would like to apologize to the members of the Reddit community for getting this site and this sub embroiled in a controversy that should never have happened,” wrote the user, who goes by “HanA–holeSolo” on the site. “I am in no way this kind of person. I love and accept people of all walks of life and have done so my entire life.”

The original post has been deleted, but not before screenshots of the message were posted online.

Trump posted a version of the CNN video on July 2. “HanA–holeSolo,” the Reddit user, claimed credit for creating it soon thereafter. That led reporters to analyze his or her history on the site. In June, the user posted a graphic critical of Jewish staffers at CNN. On Sunday, the user wrote “F— ISLAM.” A comment about a photo of crowd of refugees read “there’s a MOAB (Mother of All Bomb’s) for that.”

“Free speech is a right we all have, but it shouldn’t be used in the manner that it was in the posts that were put on this site,” the user wrote in his or her apology. “I do not advocated violence against the press and the meme I posted was in no way advocating that in any way, shape, or form.”