Melissa Joskow / Media Matters
Nevada congressional candidate Danny Tarkanian is set to attend a fundraiser with misogynist and racist dirty trickster Roger Stone. Stone is a conspiracy theorist who has speculated that the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting was a botched government gun-running operation and the shooter was a government agent.
Stone is set to be the “special guest” at an October 29 fundraiser in Palm Beach, FL, for Tarkanian. The Republican is running to represent Nevada's 3rd District, which includes a portion of Las Vegas. Tarkanian bizarrely told Axios that “he 'didn’t know' Stone would be there because he doesn’t plan the events.”
Stone is a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump and works as a paid host for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars network. Special counsel Robert Mueller has been closely examining Stone’s activities related to the 2016 election. Stone has repeatedly lied or contradicted himself regarding matters related to the Russia probe.
Jones and his Infowars network have spread conspiracy theories about numerous tragedies, including wild and irresponsible claims about the October 1, 2017, shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and hundreds more wounded. Jones has said that the shooting was “as phony as a three dollar bill or as Obama’s birth certificate” and “has the hallmarks of being scripted by deep state Democrats and their Islamic allies.”
Stone has also forwarded conspiracy theories about the Vegas shooting. During an October 4 appearance on Infowars, Stone said the shooting “is beginning to smell more and more like some kind of gun-running operation. Isn’t it odd that this fellow has no history whatsoever of any social media contact? That would be typical of a government agent, an FBI agent, for example, or a DEA agent.”
ROGER STONE: I think you put it right in the first, in the opening here, this is beginning to smell more and more like some kind of gun-running operation. Isn’t it odd that this fellow has no history whatsoever of any social media contact? That would be typical of a government agent, an FBI agent, for example, or a DEA agent. That he has no record as a gun enthusiast, yet he has a veritable arsenal in his room, an arsenal no one saw him bring in, and no one saw him bring ammunition or any of the other necessary pieces, the elaborate filming apparatus, and so on. How very strange. And then we track him undeniably to an anti-Trump rally, actually, two different anti-Trump rallies, two different events. I think that that’s a pattern --
ALEX JONES (HOST): This is like Lee Harvey Oswald at the communist rallies.
STONE: Well, it very well. He could have been put there as a plant, that’s entirely possible.
During another October 4 appearance on Infowars, Stone said that Paddock had “no social media, very typical of someone who’s either in the mafia or a federal agent” and “seems to have some record of leftist and anti-Trump activism.”
Stone’s claim about Paddock being involved in anti-Trump activity is false. The conspiracy theory that the Vegas shooting was a botched government gun-running operation has been pushed by conspiracy theorist media. Investigators concluded that Paddock acted alone and did not carry out the attack as part of a wider plot.
Stone has promoted numerous other conspiracy theories over the years, including claiming that Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) father was tied to the John F. Kennedy assassination; saying that the Bushes and Clintons have murdered or attempted to murder numerous enemies; and relating that he advised Trump that “there’s a lot of questions” about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.
Stone has a history of racist rhetoric. He’s called Black media commentators “stupid negro,” “fat negro,” “arrogant know-it-all negro,” and “Mandingo.” He's also called Hispanic and Black commentators “quota hires.” Stone tweeted that he’s a “nigga” with a Nixon tattoo.
He also has repeatedly used sexist rhetoric. His remarks about female media and political figures include lobbing attacks such as “elitist c*nt,” a “self-important, nasty cunt,” and “every man’s first wife.” He also told a journalist, “DIE BITCH.”
(For more on Stone, read Media Matters’ comprehensive guide.)
Tarkanian has associated with other conspiracy theorists. In April of this year, he went on the program of Wayne Dupree to promote his candidacy. Like Jones, Dupree is a Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist, having claimed that the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, CT, was a “hoax” that involved “crisis actors.” Tarkanian’s website promotes his appearance and he posted it on his Facebook page as well, thanking Dupree for "a great time.”
In November 2017, Tarkanian gave an interview to online host Jack Belgarde, who has claimed that the Vegas shooting was “an inside job.”
Media Matters previously documented that Tarkanian was listed as an administrator of a racist Facebook group. He left shortly after information about him publicly surfaced.