There have been a lot of ugly insults hurled at the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas shootings. They’ve been called “crisis actors,” puppets for the left, and callous toward Nikolas Cruz. But one far-right host may have topped them all. He claimed that one of the leaders of the Stoneman Douglas survivors was actually in on Cruz’ butchery.
This weekend, far-right podcaster Josh Bernstein teased that he was putting David Hogg in his crosshairs.
But what Bernstein actually offered was a steaming pile of conspiracy theory. He claimed that the moment Hogg rose to fame—his real-time interviews with his fellow students as they huddled in a closet—suggested that he may have been in on Cruz’ plan to shoot up the place. Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Bernstein harrumphed that it seemed “very odd” that Hogg would record the event while he was hiding. His gut told him that one of two things happened—either Hogg “knew he wasn’t going to be shot, knew he wasn’t going to be targeted,” or he was “affiliated in some way with Nikolas Cruz.
So by Bernstein’s “logic,” war correspondents should automatically be suspected of being in cahoots with the enemy. After all, they’re trained to keep their composure and report as long as it’s safe to do so. And that’s before we note that Bernstein offers nada, zip, zero evidence to support his borderline libelous claim beyond his “gut.”
About two hours after Right Wing Watch originally flagged Bernstein’s screed, the YouTube version of this broadcast disappeared. But Right Wing Watch has a receipt.
The original is still available on Facebook, though.
This cannot stand. The only thing we need to hear from Bernstein on this is an apology.