UNCLASSIFIED//LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE
- enforcement investigations discredited the claim, the leader repeatedly alleged a law enforcement cover up and referenced the QAnon conspiracy theory as he and armed group members searched for additional camps, according to multiple sources with varying degrees of access. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] In addition, the leader and his supporters accused specific residents, businesses, and local officials of aiding or participating in child sex trafficking, according to two sources with indirect access. [21] [22] [23] The group also harassed, threatened, and doxed critics and opponents, according to multiple sources with varying degrees of access, [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] and engaged in criminal activities, according to an indictment filed in an Arizona county superior court.[29]
- (U) Following the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, conspiracy theorists who believed the shooting was a government hoax harassed and threatened family members of the slain victims, who they believed to be complied, according to two online new sources deemed reliable. [30] [31] According to an FBI investigation, a Florida woman was arrested and sentenced in 2017 for sending death threats to a victim's father, [32] [33] and a Brooklyn, New York man was arrested in November 2015 after harassing another victim's daughter and fleeing from police, according to an online news source of unknown reliability.[34]
- (U) On 4 December 2016, a North Carolina man was arrested in Washington, DC after he entered the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant carrying an AR-15 rifle and a .38 revolver, fired shots at a locked closet door, and aimed his rifle at an employee. The man was motivated by the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, alleging that a child sex-trafficking ring involving nationally known political figures was operating from inside the restaurant, according to a plea agreement filed in US District Court.[35]
- (U) On 10 April 2015, a Tennessee man was arrested for plotting to attack an Islamic community near Hancock, New York known as Islamberg, according to an FBI investigation.[36] According to a US Court of Appeals Opinion, inaccurate news reporting about Islamberg had surfaced in recent years, including a story suggesting the community supported terrorism. The man became obsessed with Islamberg, believing that its residents were plotting to attack New York City, and in February 2015 he began attempts to recruit others to join his attack.[37]
(U) Perspective
(U) Although conspiracy theory-driven crime and violence is not a new phenomenon, today's information environment has changed the way conspiracy theories develop, spread, and evolve. The advent of the Internet and social media has enabled promoters of conspiracy theories to produce and share greater volumes of material via online platforms that larger audiences of consumers can quickly and easily access. [38] [39] Based on the increased volume and reach of conspiratorial content due to modern communication methods, it is logical to assume that more extremist-minded individuals will be exposed to potentially harmful conspiracy theories, accept ones that are favorable to their views, and possibly carry out criminal or violent actions as a result. The Internet has also enabled a 'crowd-sourcing' effect wherein conspiracy theory followers themselves shape a given theory by presenting information that supplements, expands,
UNCLASSIFIED//LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE
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