Credit: Photo via Shutterstock

Credit: Photo via Shutterstock
One day after 17 students and teachers were murdered at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, an official with the National Rifle Association reached out to a prominent conspiracy theorist to spread a hoax about a possible second shooter.

According to emails and court documents obtained by the Huffington Post, NRA officer Mark Richardson emailed Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist and InfoWars contributor Wolfgang Halbig on February 15, 2018, arguing that Parkland shooter could not have acted alone.

Email from Huffington Post:

Wolfgang,

You have included me with a lot of Information since the Sandy Hook Incident and I do appreciate it very much. Concerning what happened in Florida yesterday, I have been asking the question and no one else seems to be asking it. How is it that Cruz was able gain access to a secured facility while in possession of a rifle, multiple magazines, smoke grenades and a gas mask? To pull the fire alarm, he had to already be inside. Correct? When my Children were in school the only way into the school was through the front door and past the main office. We have been told that he was. Prohibited from entering the building With a backpack. No longer a student, why was he allowed in the building at all? Where was all the equipment, in his back pocket? Just like SH, there is so much more to this story. He was not alone. Just a few questions that have surfaced in the past 24 hours. Thank you for all the information And for what you do. STAY SAFE

Of course, the shooter did in fact act alone. But that same day Halbig irresponsibly published a video to InfoWars titled “Video: Second Shooter Reported In Florida Massacre.”

Halbig made a name for himself for spreading false flag conspiracy theories following the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook, where 20 students and faculty were fatally shot. According to the New York Times, Halbrig argued that some students were never actually killed, including 6-year-old Avielle Richman, whose father recently died by suspected suicide.

The emails emerged in the defamation lawsuit between InfoWars host, energy supplement peddler, and man who believes in the existence of “lizard people” Alex Jones and Sandy Hook parent Scarlett Lewis.’

You can read all the documents and emails at Huffington Post

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Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent...