Leftists giddy over photo of 'white supremacist' yelling at Michigan shutdown rally. But it's fake news once again.

A photograph from the April 30 shutdown protest at the Michigan State Capitol has received added social media attention from leftists who managed to create fake news over it.

The photo depicts a bearded man yelling close to a line of police outside the chamber of the state's House of Representatives. The protesters were angry at Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for ordering businesses closed in the wake of the coronavirus.

All it takes is one tweet, it seems

With that, the image was featured on a Twitter post, which named the yelling man and called him a "white supremacist" from Los Angeles and the "face of the Republican Party."

"Meet Rob Cantrell who lives in Los Angeles. Rob is a white supremacist who is being paid to attend protests in blue states all over the country. This #Deplorable is the face of the Republican Party," the tweet stated. The post has been retweeted nearly 7,000 times since it went live Sunday, and another tweet identified the man in the photo as Cantrell and said he's a Proud Boys member.

With that, comments from the left bordered on gleeful, as apparently the mask came off — literally — and Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump and those who want to go back to work have finally proven themselves as racists and supporters of racists:

• "Hello Bob Cantrell. Wondering why you think Michigan should reopen when YOU live in Los Angeles? Who paid for your travel? Who paid for your lodging? WHO WANTS MICHIGAN OPEN AND IS WILLING TO PAY YOUR White Supremesist [sic] WAY?"
• "At least I'm relieved to see that he isn't a marriage counselor or sensitivity expert. Neo-nazi definitely suits him better."
• "The @gop no longer has a moral left to stand on. To save this nation, they all gotta go."

Wrong

Turns out the protester in the photo isn't Cantrell. His name is Brian Cash, and he's from New Hudson, Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reported.

A marijuana advocate who voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primary and then Trump in the general election, Cash also isn't too happy he's being mistaken for Cantrell, the paper said. In fact, he told the Free Press he hadn't a clue who Cantrell is but did some research and concluded that he's a "racist."

Cash added to the paper that his experience that day was "awesome" and that "anybody of any color should have the right to do what I did."

The 52-year-old flooring installer also told the paper he wasn't yelling at the line of cops in front of him but at an officer behind them who he said assaulted a female protester the previous day. The Free Press said incident prompted an announcement by the Michigan State Police that it was investigating the confrontation between individuals and House police.

More from the paper:

Other details about Cash: He is not concerned about the virus ("Not at all"); he doesn't believe masks protect people and won't wear one ("Ever"); he doesn't agree with the stay home order because people are still going to stores, pharmacies and gas stations anyway ("So what is the point of staying at home?"); he believes the virus was intentionally released by the Chinese government, and he said he had never voted before the 2016 election ("Because f*** the government, you know?").

WCRZ-FM in Flint posted a reaction to Cash being mistaken for a "white supremacist" and took the guilty parties to task.

"I wanted nothing more than for this to be true...but it's not," the writer lamented, adding that "the moral of the story is this — do some research before you share. Wanting something to be true isn't the same as it being true."

USA Today also ran a fact check and concluded, "We rate the claim that a protester at Michigan's capitol on April 30 is a known white supremacist from LA as FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Brian Cash has stated he is the protestor in the viral image from the protests in Lansing."