About

Dark Garland refers to the "dark" or the evil version of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, similar to both Dark Brandon and DarkMAGA. After the FBI Raid On Mar-a-Lago in mid-2022, Dark Garland became a character on Twitter and elsewhere in which users photoshopped Garland's eyes to glow, among other visual effects.

Origin

On July 20th, 2022, Twitter^[1] user mmmmmmbeer quote retweeted a video posted by MeidasTouch that showed Merrick Garland speaking about Donald Trump at the 2022 January 6th Committee Hearings. Twitter user mmmmmmbeer captioned the video, "C'mon, let's see Dark Garland" (shown below). The QT received no likes, however, it is the first-known use of "Dark Garland" on social media.

Spread

Merrick Garland memes continued to spread online over the following days and weeks, particularly on Twitter. On July 25th, 2022, Twitter^[2] user VeronicaSixsmi1 tweeted a photoshopped image of Merrick Garland that made him appear purple with blue, glowing eyes (shown below, left). VeronicaSixsmi1 was posting a reply to a video tweeted by the Twitter^[3] account of The Daily Show.

Later on July 25th, Twitter^[4] user CeliaFateEsq tweeted a reply to a thread of tweets about former Mike Pence chief of staff Marc Short appearing before a federal grand jury for the January 6th Committee Hearings. The reply read, "Dark Garland is on the case 😎," and attached the photoshopped image of Garland created by VeronicaSixsmi1 (shown below, right). This reply received two likes in three weeks.

Twitter^[5] user VeronicaSixsmi1 used their photoshop in an Impact font meme, captioning it, "Finding Out Intensifies" (shown below, left). Also on July 25th, Twitter^[6] user HunterJCullen tweeted a photoshop of Garland playing the violin with the caption, "My Next Piece Is Called… Nothing Can Stop What's Coming," earning over 100 likes in two weeks (shown below, right). The aforementioned meme referenced a precursor meme^[7] with the same caption showing Donald Trump playing the violin.

Continuing into August 2022, Dark Garland received more viral engagement on Twitter and elsewhere. For instance, on August 8th, 2022, Twitter^[8] user ResistandDesist tweeted a reply of a red-eyed Dark Garland, earning roughly 1,500 likes in six days (shown below, left). Also on August 8th, Twitter^[9] user TravisAllen02 tweeted a drawing of Dark Garland raiding Mar-a-Lago, earning roughly 6,900 likes in the same time period (shown below, right).

Dark Garland memes were also shared on Facebook. For instance, on August 9th, 2022, the Facebook^[10] page I Am a Liberal 'Til My Dying Day used TravisAllen02's image in a post that received over 530 reactions in five days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References