After the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary questioned then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in early March 2026, a rumor spread that Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, wore a pin that read "Justice for Cricket," in reference to a dog Noem said she shot in her 2024 autobiography "No Going Back."
One post on X included a photograph of Moskowitz holding up documents, with the pin on his lapel. Another post shared a different image of him (archived):
The claim also appeared on Facebook. Snopes readers searched the website and emailed us, seeking to confirm whether this truly happened.
The claim was true. Snopes reviewed two videos of the March 4, 2026, hearing, which show Moskowitz from different angles, wearing the pin while questioning Noem. (The following day, President Donald Trump announced he was replacing Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.)
In Chapter 6 of "No Going Back," Noem discussed Cricket:
Cricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old, and she had come to us from a home that struggled with her aggressive personality. I was sure she'd learn a lot going out with our older dogs that day.
I was wrong.
Noem then described taking her to a hunt with other dogs. Cricket ran ahead and "flushed birds out of range." Noem could not recall her. "The hunt was ruined," she wrote. "I was livid."
After the hunt, Noem collected the dogs:
As I loaded the dogs and supplies, I realized I was one kennel short. No matter. I would just let Cricket ride loose in the back end of the truck on the way home. If she was dumb enough to jump out, then good riddance.
On the way back, Noem said she stopped to see neighbors and Cricket jumped out and attacked the neighbors' chickens. Noem said she eventually managed to grab the dog by the collar, and Cricket turned to bite her. Noem then locked the dog into the cab of the truck, offered to pay for the chickens and helped then neighbors clean up the dead birds.
"I hated that dog," Noem wrote. She then described her decision to shoot Cricket:
As I drove home, I realized I had no choice. Cricket was untrainable and, after trying to bite me, dangerous to anyone she came in contact with. A dog who bites is dangerous and unpredictable (are you listening, Joe Biden?)— especially if you are running a business where people interact with your dogs. Besides that, she was less than worthless to us as a hunting dog.
At that moment, I realized I had to put her down.
As I pulled into the driveway, I decided that I had to deal with this problem myself. This was my dog and my responsibility, and I would not ask someone else to clean up my mess. I stopped the truck in the middle of the yard, got my gun, grabbed Cricket's leash and let her out into the pasture and down into the gravel pit.
It was not a pleasant job — but it had to be done.
One clip from C-SPAN framed Moskowitz from the front. He wore the blue pin with white wording that read "Justice for Cricket":
A second video, streamed live on the YouTube channel of the House Judiciary Committee, showed him from the side as he leaned back to look at and talk to the committee chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio (at the 6:06:39 mark):
For further reading, Snopes has addressed several rumors about Noem, including the claim that Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., asked her about a salacious text from her chief of staff, Corey Lewandowski.