The Republican congressman from Michigan posted about “illegal intruders” at Detroit airport. It was Gonzaga’s March Madness team

A Republican state representative in Michigan, Rep. Matt Maddock, claims on social media that he had photographic evidence of the arrival of “illegal intruders” at Detroit Metro Airport.

One of the two photos Maddock posted on Platform X (formerly Twitter) showed an Allegiant Air plane. The other photo showed three buses. Maddock wrote: “Just happening. Three buses were just loaded with illegal trespassers in the Detroit Metro. Anybody got any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?”

Facts first: Maddock’s claim is false. The buses were not for “illegal trespassers”; they were for men’s college basketball teams landing at Detroit airport to participate in the NCAA tournament March Madness. The only Allegiant Air flight to the airport on Wednesday was a charter flight carrying the Gonzaga University team, which plays Purdue University on Friday.

“The four men’s basketball teams competing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Little Caesars Arena arrived at DTW on Wednesday evening. The buses seen in a photo circulating online were transporting the basketball teams and their respective staff,” the Wayne County Airport Authority, which operates Detroit Metro Airport, said in an email to CNN on Thursday.

It is not certain which team took the buses seen in Maddock’s photo, but Barrett Henderson, Gonzaga University’s assistant athletic director for communications, confirmed to CNN on Thursday that the team flew with an Allegiant aircraftlanded at Detroit Metro Airport on Wednesday evening in the hour before Maddocks Post and boarded buses waiting at the airport.

An Allegiant spokesman said Thursday that a charter flight carrying the Gonzaga team from Spokane, Washington, was the only Allegiant flight to Detroit airport on Wednesday, confirmed by an online flight tracking website.

And what about Maddock’s claim that “illegal intruders” were escorted by police? Henderson confirmed that the bus carrying the Gonzaga players was escorted by police to their hotel. Rob Anderson, sports information director at Creighton University, told CNN that her team landed at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, buses were waiting for them, and they were also escorted by police.

“I was on one of those buses,” Anderson said.

Maddock triples

Maddock made his false claim in a month that saw a sharp rise in false and misleading claims on the political right about flights carrying migrants.

Hundreds of social media users quickly objected to Maddock’s post on Wednesday, but Maddock refused to back down. He replied to one of the many people who pointed out that the plane and buses were probably destined for NCAA basketball teams: “Sure, communist. Good point.”

Maddock remained persistent on Thursday morning. In a new post, he wrote, “We know this is happening” and that hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are “flooding into our country.” He added, “Since we can’t trust the #FakeNews to investigate, citizens will. The process of investigating these matters takes time.”

CNN has asked Maddock for comment.

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com