Extremists and Conspiracy Theorists Deny the Capital Jewish Museum Shooting With ‘False Flag’ Narrative

In the wake of the murder of two people at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., conspiracy theories about the shooting quickly circulated on social media from users across the political spectrum. The most prevalent of these conspiratorial posts alleged that the shooting was a purposeful and coordinated “false flag” attack carried out by the Israeli or U.S. government to make Jews and Israel look sympathetic, tighten relations between the two countries or rationalize going to war with Iran. Others claimed that the shooting was intended to justify measures cracking down on free speech and dissent regarding the Israel-Hamas war. These conspiracy theories follow a disturbing yet predictable narrative among antisemites and extreme anti-Zionists, particularly since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel: the belief that Jews, Zionists and Israelis are to blame for the violence and harassment targeting them, and that demonizing them is more important than the truth.

Blaming Israel
Some anti-Zionist and antisemitic influencers alleged that Israel, Mossad or the Israel Defense Forces orchestrated the shooting, though they had different reasons why. In some far-right extremist spaces, some claimed that the attack was intended to make Jews and Israel more sympathetic. As one user wrote, the attack makes them “the victims again” just as countries were “cooling on Israel’s endless genocide in gaza [sic].” Another wrote, “Jews pulling off psyop, false flag shootings as they destroy the world, genocide entire peoples. A man did something to someone near the ‘DC Jewish museum’ dedicated to the ‘Holocaust’ fairytale. Let us mourn for their psyop.”

Similarly, some suggested that the attack was carried out to strengthen U.S.-Israeli relations in response to perceived friction between the two countries. Others suggested the shooting was a Mossad operation or coordinated by Zionists to distract the world from the Israel-Hamas war.  

Still others asserted that Israel would use the attack to justify going to war with Iran. For example, Gateway Pundit journalist Elijah Schaffer wrote in an X post with over 419,000 views and 15,000 likes that “Israel would kill their own” for this very purpose. Schaffer also drew from older conspiracy theories to back up his claim, alleging that Israel helped coordinate the attacks on October 7, 2023, and that 9/11 was an inside job to justify going to war. 

AdameMedia — a popular conspiratorial X account with over 323K followers — argued in a post with over 55,000 views and 4,600 likes that the ‘false flag’ theory was the most plausible explanation, stating “The quality of Israeli false flag [sic] has fallen drastically since 9/11.” 

Blaming the U.S. Government 
As is common in the wake of highly salient events, some conspiracy theorists online claimed that the attack was not the work of a single shooter, but instead a product of a U.S. government conspiracy. On X, far-right influencer Jackson Hinkle claimed in a post with more than 111,000 views and 4,000 likes that the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) — an anti-Zionist organization that the alleged gunman was previously affiliated with — is working with U.S. federal agents, declaring the “assassination” was “a false flag.”  

Others went even further to declare that the U.S. government was operating on behalf of Mossad. One X user wrote that the “FBI is a mossad [sic] extension.”  Users affiliated with the antisemitic X broadcast network JQ Radio suggested the shooting was partially coordinated by the CIA, positing that the suspect “was connected to an intelligence agency” and may have been “trained” by the FBI to carry out the shooting.

Attack on Free Speech 
Shortly after news broke of the shooting, there were baseless claims that the attack would be used to erode free speech in the United States. As white supremacist streamer and influencer Nick Fuentes wrote on X in a post with 1.8 million views and 39,000 likes, “False flag, right on schedule,” asserting that the demise of “free speech and diplomacy” was imminent. Several other antisemitic and anti-Zionist figures agreed that the attack was designed to target free speech and to silence promoters of anti-Israel rhetoric. On Instagram, X and Bluesky, anti-Zionist influencer and MintPress journalist Greg Stoker shied away from calling it a false flag, but claimed the shooting would result in the loss of “free speech and dissent” either way.