Right-wing activist Laura Loomer has taken a break from heckling Hillary Clinton on her book tour to attempt to expose an alleged cover-up of the mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people earlier this month.
Loomer’s shtick is performing high-profile publicity stunts for the purpose of gaining fame and respect among conservative media figures. Earlier this year, she and pro-Trump social media activist Jack Posobiec disrupted a New York City production of “Julius Caesar” to capitalize on outrage coming from conservative political pundits over the production's depiction of Caesar as President Trump. So, naturally, when conspiracy theories attempting to explain why Stephen Paddock attacked a Las Vegas country music concert earlier this month began spreading in conservative circles, Loomer hopped aboard.
Loomer’s quest for relevance in the news cycle carried her to Las Vegas, where she has been conducting research that she says will expose the truth about Paddock and what she claims is the government’s dishonesty surrounding the investigation. Yesterday, she showed up at a press conference hosted by the Las Vegas police department, where she heckled the Las Vegas sheriff about allegations that Paddock had checked into the room he fired from on September 25, which is three days earlier than previously reported timelines that placed Paddock in the room on September 28.
The sheriff refused to answer Loomer’s question because she was not adhering to professional decorum. “That’s not how I conduct press conferences, ma’am,” the sheriff told Loomer.
.@LVMPD Sheriff confirms @LauraLoomer report Paddock arrived in #LasVegas on Sep 25 NOT Sep 28 / video: @MikeTokes & @NBC #LasVegasShooting pic.twitter.com/X1q9C5ON3S
— TruNews™ (@TruNews) October 10, 2017
But then Mike Tokes, a political strategist accompanying Loomer, asked the question properly and the sheriff confirmed that investigators learned Paddock had checked in on September 25, although investigators did not believe he occupied the room until September 28. Loomer capitalized on the update to claim credibility for her search for government conspiracies, arguing that the police department is lying to the public and that the FBI is conducting a “misinformation campaign.”
The sheriff’s confirmation of a piece of information Loomer had spread on her Twitter account days earlier is now being hailed by popular conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones and Wayne Allyn Root, who have used Loomer to validate their claims that government agencies are actively conspiring to conceal facts and mislead the public about the Las Vegas shooting, including claims that the entire incident was a “false flag” operation.
Loomer is not shy about engaging with the web’s biggest conspiracy theories. Most recently, Loomer peddled conspiracy theories about the murder of Seth Rich that alleged the DNC staffer was killed for providing the organization’s emails to WikiLeaks.
The most common phrase in America right now:
"I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, BUT.."
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 8, 2017
