American held by Russia as a spy is a Trump supporter
Paul Whelan/CNN screen shot

Paul Whelan, the American arrested Friday in Russia and detained under suspicion of espionage, is actually a Trump supporter, discovered Twitter user Eliot Higgins.


Higgins posted links to archived versions of Whelan's VKontakte, account. VKontakte, also known as VK, is a Russian social media network.

Higgins took a screenshot one of Whelan's posts reading "God bless President Trump." Further exploration revealed political cartoons critical of President Obama.

Whelan, who is director of global security for an auto parts supplier based in Michigan, has traveled often to Russia. His family says he is innocent and was in the country for a wedding.

Some suspect that Russia seized Whelan to pressure the United States to release convicted Russian spy Maria Butina, who infiltrated the NRA and made contacts with several powerful Republicans.