Gonzalo Lira, a 55-year-old Chilean American who was imprisoned in Ukraine after allegedly spreading Russian propaganda then violating his bail conditions, has died in a Ukrainian jail.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, conservative social-media personality Tucker Carlson said he had been informed of the death by Lira's father. Speaking to Newsweek, a State Department official confirmed "the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine" and offered their "sincerest condolences to the family on their loss." The cause of Lira's death has not been confirmed. Newsweek contacted the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for comment by email on Saturday.
Lira was formerly a pick-up artist who posted videos to YouTube under the name 'Coach Red Pill.' He was living in Kharkiv when the Russian military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Lira gained a following by posting content online hostile to the Ukrainian government and its President Volodymyr Zelensky. Lira baselessly branded Ukraine's leader a "cokehead," and described the Russian operation as "one of the most brilliant invasions in military history."
Lira was arrested by Ukraine's internal security agency, the SBU, on May 1 before being released on bail. Lira subsequently released a video saying he was going to try to leave the country, before being rearrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions.
Speaking about Lira's arrest, the Ukrainian government's Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security, also known as SPRAVDI, said the YouTube poster had been charged with "justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine," in violation of Article 463-2 of the country's criminal code.
Specifically, SPRAVDI said that Lira had justified the Russian attack by falsely claiming the Ukrainian government was a neo-Nazi regime and denied "massacres of civilian Ukrainians by Russian invaders in Bucha and other cities." SPRAVDI added that Lira filmed himself insulting Ukrainian soldiers before publishing the footage on social media.
On April 3, 2022, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said the bodies of 410 civilians had been recovered from Bucha, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, and neighboring settlements following the retreat of Russian troops. Taras Shapravskyi, speaker of the Bucha City Council, told Newsweek: "We have official data confirming the deaths of 422 civilians at the hands of the Russian occupiers."
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, in July, Lira said he was "arrested for my YouTube videos," adding: "My crime was making videos critical of the West and their proxy regime in Kiev—and how they are destroying Ukraine."
Lira added that he was tortured in prison by other inmates, which saw him beaten and sleep-deprived, with his "arms twisted the wrong way around at the shoulder."
These allegations were strenuously denied by Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, a former American journalist who became a sergeant in the Ukrainian army, in an interview with Business Insider. Ashton-Cirillo said: "In an effort to gain sympathy, Gonzalo Lira made up allegations of abuse and torture. As someone who spoke to him shortly after he was returned to custody, it was clear that he was in good health and treated extremely fairly by the state security services."
When asked about Lira's reported death by Newsweek, a State Department spokesperson said they could "confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine."
The spokesperson added: "We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment."
Posting on X on Friday, Tucker Carlson wrote: "Gonzalo Lira, Sr. says his son has died at 55 in a Ukrainian prison, where he was being held for the crime of criticizing the Zelensky and Biden governments.
"Gonzalo Lira was an American citizen, but the Biden administration clearly supported his imprisonment and torture. Several weeks ago we spoke to his father, who predicted his son would be killed," Carlson added.
Russian troops have spent the past couple of months attempting to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, with heavy casualties on both sides. They have also launched a number of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities, including one on December 29, which Kyiv said involved "around 110 Russian missiles and numerous drones." Newsweek has been unable to confirm this figure.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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