Bryan Zollinger, an Idaho state politician, reposted an Obama conspiracy theory behind the Charlottesville, Virginia, incident on Aug. 12 that cost the life of one woman, and claimed it was "completely plausible," the Idaho Falls Post Register reported.
Zollinger, a state representative in Idaho, told the Post Register on Friday that he did not mean to offend anyone by reposting an article from the American Thinker. The piece suggested former President Barack Obama, liberal-leaning billionaire George Soros, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and/or Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer staged the event.
"In hindsight, maybe it was a mistake to post it," Zollinger told the Post Register. "I didn't mean for it to ruffle any feathers."
The Facebook post remained on his page Tuesday. On Monday, he posted what appeared to be a follow-up to the reaction he's received, claiming an "outpouring of support from friends and fellow Idaho Falls residents."
"The conflagration in Charlottesville is beginning to feel like a set-up, perhaps weeks or months in the planning," the American Thinker article by Patricia McCarthy said. "Planned by whom? Time may tell. …We know that Obama and his inner circle have set up a war room in his D.C. home to plan and execute resistance to the Trump administration and his legislative agenda."
The American Thinker article suggested the connection in "what if's" but did not make the claim that there was any evidence of such planning between Obama, Soros, McAuliffe, and Signer.
"So were the events of Saturday the result of a despicable plan to further undermine (President Donald) Trump? There was plenty of time and Charlottesville is the 'capital of resistance,'" the American Thinker article continued. "If it was, it was evil and deadly and the people involved need to be prosecuted. Or is this a wild conspiracy theory? Perhaps. But the pieces fit."
Zollinger wrote on Facebook about the article, "I'm not saying it is true, but I am suggesting that it is completely plausible," the Post Register reported.
The Charlottesville rally that protested the removal of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park there turned violent when white supremacist groups squared off with counter-protesters, The Hill reported. One woman, Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a car was driven into counter-protesters. The alleged driver of the car has ties to white supremacist groups.
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