New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Thursday responded to a CNN report that he cast doubt on the veracity of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary massacre that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six adults.
CNN reported on Wednesday that the sure-fire Hall of Fame signal caller has privately espoused the patently false theory — that the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 “was actually a government inside job and the media was intentionally ignoring it.”
The Sandy Hook shooter carried out his massacre at the elementary school before turning a gun on himself. Earlier that day, the shooter killed his mother at the home they shared. The Sandy Hook shooting was, at the time, the second-deadliest mass shooting in the United States after the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech.
CNN’s Pamela Brown said she clearly remembers Rodgers telling her, at a 2013 Kentucky Derby party, that Sandy Hook was a staged government event.
In the CNN article Brown recalls Rodgers asking her about “men in black in the woods by the school. ”
Rodgers, who in recent years has embraced odd conspiracy theories and advocated against vaccines, has been floated as a possible running mate of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“As I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy,” Rodgers said in a statement posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place. Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community.”
The Sandy Hook conspiracy theory is a favorite in fringe right wing circles, led by Alex Jones.
The notorious broadcaster owes nearly $1.5 billion to Sandy Hook parents after lawsuits linked Jones to falsehoods spread about the Sandy Hook attack.
Rodgers has vocally opposed vaccines to fight Covid-19, despite proven and ongoing high efficacy rates.
And in early January, Rodgers, with absolutely no proof, hinted that late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel would appear in court documents associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Kimmel’s name was not referenced at all in the unsealed documents.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
