The problem with the false flag theory floated by wingnuts of the far right has just been demonstrated with the arrest of Cesar Sayoc, Jr, no doubt a deranged Trump zealot whose van is covered by stickers. Once a false narrative is disproved by an arrest the purveyors of such claims are exposed as craven political opportunists.
Fox News unsurprisingly gave credence to the false flag theory (that Democrats were responsible for sending harmless bombs to advance their cause) yesterday.
Debunking the despicable 'false flag' theory on the mail bombs — Chris Cillizza, CNN
Campaign politics tends to be a lowest-common-denominator business. If something works -- no matter how loathsome or even untrue -- then it gets used. The end always justifies the means -- and the end is always and only winning.
And yet, even by that incredibly low bar, what some right-wing pundits have done in the wake of 10 mail pipe bombs being sent to prominent Trump critics, Democratic politicians, party donors and CNN's New York office is astonishing. In short: They have suggested -- with zero evidence -- that is all one big hoax designed to help Democrats in the 2018 midterms, a classic "false flag" operation.
Even President Donald Trump himself seemed to pick up on the theory Friday morning, tweeting: "Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this 'Bomb' stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!"
The President's tweet came shortly before news that federal authorities have arrested a man in connection to the suspected explosive packages, according to multiple law enforcement sources Friday.
The Trump presidential seal sticker easily visible is ironically an example of what is something frowned upon by protocol purists, i.e. that politicians should never use national symbols like the presidential seal and deface them for political purposes.
Trump has already defaced the office so what else is new?
His Tweets prior to this arrest demonstrate how unpresidential he is: