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Friday, Apr 19, 2013 5:45 PM UTC

Right won’t let go of Saudi conspiracy theory

The man, who officials say wasn't even a suspect, is still all Glenn Beck wants to talk about

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Topics: Glenn Beck, Boston explosion, boston marathon bombings, conspiracy theories,

Right won't let go of Saudi conspiracy theory (Credit: s_bukley via Shutterstock)

As the world turned its attention to the manhunt in Boston last night and the two brothers now suspected in this week’s bombings, some on the right are still stuck on that Saudi national whom the New York post initially fingered as a suspect (when they also reported that 12 people were killed in the attack). According to Boston Marathon bombing conspiracy theory B (conspiracy theory A being Alex Jones’ “false flag” notion), the U.S. government planned to quietly deport the Saudi in a kind of coverup of the administration’s incompetence and a paean to the Saudi Royal Family.

Terrorism “expert” Steve Emerson, who seems to have an awful lot of gaps in his knowledge of terrorism for an “expert,” first created the narrative on Sean Hannity’s show Wednesday night, and soon Hannity, Glenn Beck, Pamela Geller and even a Republican congressman took it and ran with it. Officials categorically denied the claims yesterday, saying proponents of the rumor were confusing the Saudi questioned after the marathon with a different Saudi national who was being deported on an unrelated matter, and that the first Saudi was never a suspect in the bombing.

But that didn’t stop Emerson and the others. Last night on Fox, Hannity said his own “sources in Washington” confirmed the claim. Emerson, appearing on the show, added that he had seen secret documents further bolstering the theory.

Glenn Beck went much further, calling for impeachments over the alleged coverup when he interviewed Emerson this morning, saying the government has “aided and abetted” evildoers. “I don’t bluff,” Beck threatened mysterious forces in Washington who he said were responsible for the coverup. “I make promises. The truth matters. I’ve had enough of what you’ve done to our country. I thought I had heard and seen it all. I thought I didn’t trust my government. Oh no, no, no. There is no depth that these people will not stoop to. They have until Monday and then The Blaze will expose it.”

It’s unclear how the Saudi national fits in with the two suspects in Boston, but that probably doesn’t matter when you have an opportunity to attack the president.

Alex Seitz-Wald

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.

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