The pro-gun sheriff in charge of investigating a mass shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College said Friday that he doesn’t subscribe to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting “truther” movement, despite having posted a video raising questions about the tragedy to his Facebook page.
“I know what you’re referring to, but that’s not a conspiracy theory that I have,” Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told CNN late Friday when asked about the video.
Hanlin posted a link in January 2013 to a YouTube video called “The Sandy Hook Shooting – Fully Exposed,” which summarized conspiracy theories surrounding the shooting and quickly went viral. Hanlin posted the link about a month after the massacre of elementary school children in Newtown, Connecticut.
“This makes me wonder who we can trust anymore…” Hanlin wrote. “Watch, listen, and keep an open mind.”
The Facebook post was removed from public view Friday afternoon after news outlets, including TPM, reported on it.
Two days after posting the video, Hanlin sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden stating that he did not believe stricter gun control measures would prevent potential mass shootings. That letter earned him praise from a fringe “constitutional sheriffs” organization.