Law student accused of beheading girlfriend was touted as #MeToo ‘victim’ by Trump admin
A former San Francisco Republican official who has been charged in the brutal butchering of his fiancée, whose dismembered body was found along the California shoreline in July, had once been touted as a so-called victim of the #MeToo movement by the Trump administration
Joseph Roberts, 42 — who was arrested on Sept. 6 after his DNA was found on the duct tape and bags used to wrap the body of his fiancée, Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner — shared his purported woes of being falsely accused of sexual misconduct during the height of the #MeToo movement in 2018.
He gave numerous interviews saying he was wrongly accused of sexual harassment while attending Savannah State University, identifying his accusers as sorority girls in an interview with “The Exceptional Conservative Show” posted on YouTube.
“They said things like they were afraid for their lives. It was just total lies,” said Roberts, who claimed to have been suspended from the university.
He even went on to share his story with Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s secretary of education, and hailed her as a hero when she unveiled new Title IX rules strengthening due process rights for college students accused of sexual misconduct.
In a later appearance on ABC’s “Nightline,” Roberts said sharing his story with DeVos was a “big deal,” because he had been presumed guilty.
Despite his troubles, Roberts won elected office in San Francisco and went on to study law at Golden Gate University School of Law, where he met Buckner.
Buckner’s body — missing its head, hands and feet — was found inside a garbage bag on the shoreline near the Bay Farm Island Bridge on July 20.
“Joseph’s DNA was on the tape that wrapped her body, which meant he was aware she was dead, he was aware she was dismembered,” Robert Hansen, a detective on the case, told the Messenger.
“He took an active role in wrapping her body, concealing it in plastic garbage bags.”
When police went to question Roberts, he denied any knowledge of Buckner’s death. He told them he assumed she died by suicide due to her mental health struggles, but had no answer when they asked why his DNA was found along with her body, Mercury News reported.
Bruckner’s family described her in a written statement as “beautiful, brilliant, [and] kind,” with “an incredibly bright future.”
The 27-year-old Howard University graduate was both an accomplished student and a basketball player. She was set to graduate from Golden Gate University School of Law this year, her family said.
Roberts has not entered a plea and is being held without bail in Santa Rita County Jail.
