A conspiracy video claiming that there were at least two people responsible for the recent Orlando massacre in a LGBT nightclub is circulating online, amongst claims that a second accomplice was “holding the doors” shut to prevent people from leaving.
The conspiracy video – titled “BOOM! Man ‘Cut Off’ Live On Air, After Saying Someone Was Holding Doors Closed at Pulse Night Club” – asserts to have “proof of a false flag conspiracy” after a man being interviewed by mainstream media was- according to the video – deliberately cut off after mentioning that he saw a man holding the doors to the nightclub shut preventing victims from fleeing.
Claims that any particular massacre or shooting in the United States is actually a “false flag” incident (meaning it was either orchestrated or staged by the US government) is sadly an inevitable and increasingly popular consequence over the last handful of decades and have been prolifically circulated thanks largely to the evolution of social media and conspiracy-themed blogs and websites. They most popularly show up via YouTube videos purporting to have “proof” or “evidence” of some sort of government cover-up or conspiracy.
The Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre has proven to be no different, with a flurry of conspiracy videos showing up online, some only hours after the shooting took place. Many of the videos spout the usual baseless nonsense of “crisis actors” and “no tears” and “no blood”.
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One of the most popular shows a small video clip of a man being interviewed, who mentioned he spotted a second man holding a door shut, preventing people from leaving. At that point the line drops. The conspiracy video narrator then concludes that this is proof of a second accomplice and that the mainstream media deliberately cut off the interviewee.
The facts…
The man being interviewed is real, and is called Janiel Gonzales. However the claim that the mainstream media were trying to cover up his testimony by cutting him off is demonstrably false. In the full version of the interview (which was truncated in the conspiracy video) the interviewer initially tries unsuccessfully to get ahold of Gonzales again, and then they do manage to get him back on the line where he completes his interview.
Additionally Janiel Gonzales has also given several other interviews which he describes his ordeal in much the same way, without being cut off.
Finally, the identity of the man holding the door shut is actually known, for he himself has also been interviewed by mainstream media. His name was Luis Burbano, and he claimed that he had held the doors shut to prevent the shooter from escaping. His interview can be seen here.
As is typical with these conspiracy videos, they have claimed to have proof of a conspiracy, but the reality is that they rely on notoriously unreliable testimony and hearsay that can be easily debunked with a little investigation.