Tamerlan Tsarnaev Was An Alex Jones Fan

Authorities have been trying to figure out how deceased Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was radicalized. It turns out it could have been at least partially a result of following uber conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of InfoWars and PrisonPlanet fame.

From Alternet:

In a bizarre twist befitting a Hollywood conspiracy theory movie,  the AP reports today that Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was influenced by conspiracy theories, including Alex Jones’ website InfoWars, which has been  pushing a narrative that the Tsarnaev brothers were patsies set up by a government cabal to take the fall for the bombing.

Tamerlan “took an interest in Infowars,” according to Elmirza Khozhugov, the ex-husband of Tamerlan’s sister. He was also apparently interested in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and was trying to find a copy of “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” one of the most notorious conspiracy tomes of history.

Every time the government calls anything a “terrorist attack,” Alex Jones starts ranting about false flag operations. In fact, when Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick gave a press conference after the bombings, the first question he got was from some Alex Jones or Ron Paul follower:

“Is this another false flag attack staged attack to take our civil liberties?”

Now we find out the head bomber was one of those guys too. This would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. As I was telling Dakinkat a little while ago, the Tsarnaev brother were the Beavis and Butthead of “terrorism.” Check out this list of “The 11 Most Mystifying Things the Tsarnaev Brothers Did.”

To me the most bizarre thing they did was confess to the guy whose SUV they had carjacked, then leave the guy alone in the car while they went into a convenience store for snacks. After the guy escaped, they didn’t even notice his cell phone was still in the car, giving the police the ability to follow their every move by GPS.

But I digress.

According to Buzzfeed, Jones is “downplaying” the reports that Tamerlan was a huge fan.

Alex Jones is not surprised that the media is reporting that Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a fan of his Infowars website, he told BuzzFeed on Tuesday.

“It’s just standard,” Jones said. “Anyone you talk to is familiar with my show. When I go out in public, half the people I meet in this country and in other countries too say they listen to my show. The show is bigger than the mainstream media admits.”

Jones — whose site has peddled conspiracy theories about the Boston Marathon bombing and suggested that Tsarnaev is innocent — conceded that Tsarnaev “may have actually been a listener.”

“He could be a listener,” Jones said. “It could be true. I’ve talked to the family and most of them are listeners. My show is anti-terrorism and my show exposes that most of the events we’ve seen have been provocateured.”

“Provocateured?” Is that in the dictionary? I think that’s an example of “verbing.”

But again, I digress.

Another big influence on Tamerlan was apparently a mysterious “radical exorcist” named Misha. Adam Clark Estes of The Atlantic Wire:

The major development in the sleuthing of the Tsarnaev brothers, specifically sinister Tamerlan, involves a red-bearded exorcist named Misha. Misha was a few years older than Tamerlan and had emigrated to the Boston area from Armenia. Whereas the Tsarnaevs were born into a Muslim home, Misha converted and soon became involved in radical teachings. Citing the boys’ uncle Ruslan Tsarni, the Daily Mail reports that Misha used to “give one-on-one sermons to Tamerlan over the kitchen table during which he claimed he could talk to demons and perform exorcisms.” That’s really weird.

According to multiple reports, Tamerlan and Misha met between as 2007 and 2009 near the Cambridge area. “Misha was telling him what is Islam, what is good in Islam, what is bad in Islam,” said Elmirza Khozhugov, the former brother-in-law of the Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, who sat in on some of the conversations. “This is the best religion and that’s it.” Khozhugov told the Associated Press. “Misha was important. Tamerlan was searching for something. He was searching for something out there.”

It all sort of unraveled at that point. Tamerlan immersed himself in radical Islam and even quit listening to music because, he said, it’s “not really supported in Islam.” (Misha told him that.) The 26-year-old’s radical thinking wandered into the political sphere as well, and apparently, he started getting into conspiracy theories. We’re not talking Area 51 or the 9/11 Truther movement. Tamerlan got into pretty much all of the conspiracy theories, including one century-old fantasy that Jews rule the world.

Here’s a longer article on the mysterious Misha by Adam Goldman, Eric Tucker, and Matt Apuzzo.

Under the tutelage of a friend known to the Tsarnaev family only as Misha, Tamerlan gave up boxing and stopped studying music, his family said. He began opposing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He turned to websites and literature claiming that the CIA was behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Jews controlled the world.

“Somehow, he just took his brain,” said Tamerlan’s uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, who recalled conversations with Tamerlan’s worried father about Misha’s influence. Efforts over several days by The Associated Press to identify and interview Misha have been unsuccessful….

Throughout his religious makeover, Tamerlan maintained a strong influence over his siblings, including Dzhokhar, who investigators say carried out the deadly attack by his older brother’s side, killing three and injuring 264 people.

“They all loved Tamerlan. He was the eldest one and he, in many ways, was the role model for his sisters and his brother,” said Elmirza Khozhugov, 26, the ex-husband of Tamerlan’s sister, Ailina. “You could always hear his younger brother and sisters say, ‘Tamerlan said this,’ and ‘Tamerlan said that.’ Dzhokhar loved him. He would do whatever Tamerlan would say.

“Even my ex-wife loved him so much and respected him so much,” Khozhugov said. “I’d have arguments with her and if Tamerlan took my side, she would agree: ‘OK, if Tamerlan said it.'”

Of course the Obama administration is trying to peddle the story that the Tsarnaevs were followers of Anwar al-Awlaki. Sorry, I don’t buy it. I’ll say it again, these guys were the criminal version of Beavis and Butthead, except maybe not as smart.

The media has only uncovered the tip of the iceberg so far. There is going to be a lot more crazy stuff coming out about Tamerlan Tsarnaev. What will tomorrow bring?