An Idaho lawmaker is facing backlash for sharing a conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama helped to orchestrate the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as part of a plot to take down President Donald Trump, The Hill reports.
Idaho Representative Bryan Zollinger on Friday posted a story on Facebook that suggested Obama and other top Democrats like billionaire George Soros and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe were part of a conspiracy to set up the rally, the Post Register reported.
“I’m not saying it is true, but I am suggesting that it is completely plausible,” Zollinger wrote on Facebook. The story claims that Obama has set up a “war room” to fight against the Trump administration, a claim that has largely been debunked, and that Charlottesville was a part of his plan.
The lawmaker later told the Idaho Statesman that it was “maybe a mistake” to share the story but doubled down on his statement that the claims were “plausible”.
The Charlottesville rally turned violent when white supremacist groups, including neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members, clashed with counter-protesters. A woman was killed when a car was driven into counter-protesters. The alleged driver has ties to white supremacist groups.
Trump faced harsh criticism for his initial response to the violence, when he blamed “many sides” for the violence. Days later, Trump criticized white supremacists, but then later reverted to his initial stance, blaming “both sides” and specifically accusing the “alt-left” of provoking violence.
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