Applying a deep-state conspiracy theory to the Hamas terrorist attacks, a Colorado Republican lawmaker says it’s more likely than not that the U.S. and Israeli governments, both with “corrupt bureaucratic leadership,” knew in advance that the Oct. 7 Hamas attack was “about to happen.”
“I don’t know for sure that our government and the Israeli government knew this [the Hamas attack] was about to happen, but would any of us bet against that?” said state Rep. Scott Bottoms (R-CO) during his Oct. 11 sermon at the Church of Briargate [at 54 minutes]. “Think about our country and how corrupt and how corrupt bureaucratic leadership is in both Israel and America.”
Bottoms’ comment came in response to a statement from a parishioner whom Bottoms referred to as Mark, who believes that the Israeli and U.S. governments had prior knowledge of the Hamas attack. He told Bottoms, “I’m convinced that the Israeli and U.S. government knew this was going to happen. I’m just trying to figure out why.”
Bottoms didn’t return a voicemail asking for evidence that the U.S. and Israeli governments would know about the attacks in advance but do nothing.
Bottoms’ specific reference to “corrupt bureaucratic leadership” aligns with “deep state” conspiracy theories, the most prominent of which is the QAnon conspiracy, which is built largely around the idea that government workers were out to undermine Trump during his presidency to prevent him from exposing a child sex trafficking network run by Democrats and Hollywood celebrities.
Deep state conspiracies have endured beyond Trump’s years, leading to the belief that hidden government powers exert control over Americans outright or partially.
Often such beliefs catch on by exaggerating a factual statement about the government.
Some news outlets, citing unnamed sources, have reported that intelligence signals suggested the possibility of an attack, but nothing at the scale of what took place.
For example, CNN reported on Friday: None of the American assessments offered any tactical details or indications of the overwhelming scope, scale and sheer brutality of the operation that Hamas carried out on October 7, sources say. It is unclear if any of these US assessments were shared with Israel, which provides much of the intelligence that the US bases its reports on.
The CNN report, as well as similar articles, appeared after Bottoms’ Oct. 11 sermon during which he suggested that Israel and the U.S. knew in advance of the Hamas attack.
Bottoms also said during the Oct. 11 sermon, without naming names, that “sitting Congresswomen” have a “very pro-terrorist mentality.”
“Here’s the thing,” Bottoms said. “We have people — we have sitting Congresswomen that are very very anti-Israel, very pro-Muslim, very pro-Palestinian and very pro-terrorist mentality. They won’t even say a terrorist attack. They won’t say anything against it. So, I just believe there’s a lot of people in our country — I don’t mean like a majority or anything, just tens of thousands out of 400 million — that’s not bad — but tens of thousands of people that would love for there to be some kind of terrorist attack in our country right now.”
It’s not clear what Bottoms thinks is a pro-terrorist mentality. Congressional members of the so-called “Squad” questioned U.S. military aid to Israel after the Hamas attack, arguing that it contributes to cycles of violence. Such statements would not be fairly characterized as evidence of a pro-terrorist mentality.
Bottoms’ extreme statements, often wrapped in right-wing religious language, make news, and have led some to call him a “theocrat.” He said during his Oct. 11 sermon, “I think God has used Trump through this whole last 10 years or more, and in ways Trump doesn’t even know God’s used him. He doesn’t even understand it.”
Bottoms has asserted that LGBTQ people are the result of mental illness, grooming, or sexual abuse. He’s said he will buy guns and grind the serial numbers off them, which is illegal. He’s also an election conspiracist who believes he’s the “real leader” of the House Republican caucus.
Last week, Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert baselessly blamed the Biden administration for the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel.
