section_path: Activities/Conspiracy theories and misinformation
section_name: Conspiracy theories and misinformation
paragraph_text: Conspiracy theories and misinformation
  
  Loomer has falsely claimed that school shootings in February 2018 in Parkland, Florida, and in May 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas, were staged, and that the perpetrator of the 2017 Las Vegas shootings was affiliated with ISIS. She claimed on Twitter that crisis actors were used for the Santa Fe school shooting.
  
  In July 2018, Loomer said that a man arrested in South Dakota with bomb-making equipment and illegal weapons had been a "leftist antifa terrorist". According to the man's social media activity at the time, and per his brother, he was a conservative who despised liberals and Antifa. During the October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts, Loomer falsely said that the bombing attacks were a " false flag " operation orchestrated by Democrats.
  
  In 2023, Loomer accused Casey DeSantis, wife of presidential candidate and Trump competitor Ron DeSantis, of exaggerating her bout with breast cancer to boost her husband's presidential campaign.
  
  Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Loomer and other right-wing influencers amplified a false story claiming that October 13, 2023, was to be a global "day of jihad ", a story that motivated a 71-year-old landlord in Illinois to stab to death a 6-year-old boy and attempt to murder his Muslim mother who were his tenants. After a fatal car crash in Long Beach on October 14, Loomer said that the crash was " Islamic terrorism ", claiming that police had a gag order. Police later stated there was "no indication that this incident was an act of terror nor associated with the current violence in Israel".
  
  In November 2023, Loomer was part of a study by the Atlantic Council, analyzed by Bloomberg, of Community Notes on Twitter regarding misinformation in the Gaza war. On October 12, she shared a video of a "pro- Hamas caravan" that had driven through London shouting racist abuse, implying the incident was recent. The video was, in fact, from May 2021, and police had made arrests after the incident. Loomer also tweeted false information about the 2023 Rainbow Bridge explosion in Buffalo, New York. She claimed the Federal Bureau of Investigation suspected a terrorist attack and that there may be a "Jihad plot" at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, despite the vehicle traveling on the U.S. side of the border towards Canada.
  
  Loomer falsely claimed that a winter storm that occurred before the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses was created by the American deep state using High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) in order to benefit the electoral chances of presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
  
  In 2023 and 2024, Loomer falsely attributed social media posts to family members of judges Arthur Engoron and Juan Merchan, who were overseeing court cases involving Donald Trump. Loomer inaccurately claimed these family members had called for Trump's imprisonment on social media. Loomer's misinformation was amplified by Trump to support his claims that Engoron and Merchan were biased against him.
  
  In July 2024, Loomer falsely claimed on X that " Joe Biden is dying and final preparations are being made for him." In September 2024, Loomer promoted the Springfield, Ohio, cat-eating hoax, lying that the city is populated by "20,000 cannibalistic Haitians".
  
  Loomer has falsely claimed that school shootings in February 2018 in Parkland, Florida, and in May 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas, were staged, and that the perpetrator of the 2017 Las Vegas shootings was affiliated with ISIS. She claimed on Twitter that crisis actors were used for the Santa Fe school shooting.
  
  In July 2018, Loomer said that a man arrested in South Dakota with bomb-making equipment and illegal weapons had been a "leftist antifa terrorist". According to the man's social media activity at the time, and per his brother, he was a conservative who despised liberals and Antifa. During the October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts, Loomer falsely said that the bombing attacks were a " false flag " operation orchestrated by Democrats.
  
  In 2023, Loomer accused Casey DeSantis, wife of presidential candidate and Trump competitor Ron DeSantis, of exaggerating her bout with breast cancer to boost her husband's presidential campaign.
  
  Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Loomer and other right-wing influencers amplified a false story claiming that October 13, 2023, was to be a global "day of jihad ", a story that motivated a 71-year-old landlord in Illinois to stab to death a 6-year-old boy and attempt to murder his Muslim mother who were his tenants. After a fatal car crash in Long Beach on October 14, Loomer said that the crash was " Islamic terrorism ", claiming that police had a gag order. Police later stated there was "no indication that this incident was an act of terror nor associated with the current violence in Israel".
  
  In November 2023, Loomer was part of a study by the Atlantic Council, analyzed by Bloomberg, of Community Notes on Twitter regarding misinformation in the Gaza war. On October 12, she shared a video of a "pro- Hamas caravan" that had driven through London shouting racist abuse, implying the incident was recent. The video was, in fact, from May 2021, and police had made arrests after the incident. Loomer also tweeted false information about the 2023 Rainbow Bridge explosion in Buffalo, New York. She claimed the Federal Bureau of Investigation suspected a terrorist attack and that there may be a "Jihad plot" at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, despite the vehicle traveling on the U.S. side of the border towards Canada.
  
  Loomer falsely claimed that a winter storm that occurred before the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses was created by the American deep state using High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) in order to benefit the electoral chances of presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
  
  In 2023 and 2024, Loomer falsely attributed social media posts to family members of judges Arthur Engoron and Juan Merchan, who were overseeing court cases involving Donald Trump. Loomer inaccurately claimed these family members had called for Trump's imprisonment on social media. Loomer's misinformation was amplified by Trump to support his claims that Engoron and Merchan were biased against him.
  
  In July 2024, Loomer falsely claimed on X that " Joe Biden is dying and final preparations are being made for him." In September 2024, Loomer promoted the Springfield, Ohio, cat-eating hoax, lying that the city is populated by "20,000 cannibalistic Haitians".