WEBVTT - S05 Episode 4 Extra: The Great Unravelling

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClane Smith, where

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<v Speaker 1>for the weeks in between episodes we look at stories

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<v Speaker 1>and ideas that, for one reason or other, didn't make

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<v Speaker 1>it into the previous show. In last week's episode, How

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<v Speaker 1>the End Always Is, we hitched derived with the Gulf

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<v Speaker 1>Breeze Six, six US Army intelligence analysts who became convinced

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<v Speaker 1>they had uncovered evidence that the world was about to end.

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<v Speaker 1>The group, who in nineteen ninety went a war from

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<v Speaker 1>their listening post in Auksburg, Germany, were eventually captured a

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<v Speaker 1>week later in Golf Breeze, Florida. Some reports suggested the

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<v Speaker 1>group had traveled to Florida intending to either kill the

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<v Speaker 1>Antichrist or to rendezvous with a spaceship that would help

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<v Speaker 1>them escape the apocalypse. The official explanation later offered by

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<v Speaker 1>the group, however, was that the only plan to make

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<v Speaker 1>a brief stop in Florida before heading in land to

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<v Speaker 1>find somewhere safe and remote to await the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the world and prepare for the arrival of the Second

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<v Speaker 1>Coming of Jesus. Little is known publicly about what happened

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<v Speaker 1>to the Gulf Brief Six after their release with the

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<v Speaker 1>exception of Vans Davis, who published a book in nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety five titled Unbroken Promises, which details the entire escapade

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<v Speaker 1>and gives a little more insight into their thinking. For

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<v Speaker 1>all the groups alleged brushes with psyops training, they're communicating

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<v Speaker 1>with spirits through a wig aboard to the not only

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<v Speaker 1>being warned of an apparent intergalactic plot to destroy human kind,

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<v Speaker 1>but then also actually acting on what they've been told.

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<v Speaker 1>What stands out most of all for me is how

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<v Speaker 1>reminiscent it all is of modern conspiracy theory. It's been

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<v Speaker 1>speculated that before heading off to the hills to hide

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<v Speaker 1>themselves away, the group had hoped to meet up with

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<v Speaker 1>a man named Bill Cooper. In the nineteen eighties, Cooper,

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<v Speaker 1>who'd served in the US Navy, developed a reputation among

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<v Speaker 1>UFO enthusiasts after he claimed to have witnessed documents showing

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<v Speaker 1>the United States government were communicating with aliens. A year

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<v Speaker 1>after the Gulf Breeze six went a War, Cooper, also

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<v Speaker 1>known as Milton William Cooper, published a book titled Behold

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<v Speaker 1>a Pale Horse. The book, which is said to have

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<v Speaker 1>established Cooper as the godfather of modern conspiracy theory was

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<v Speaker 1>a treasure trove of conspiracy and paranoia, covering everything from

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<v Speaker 1>the supposed truth about UFOs to secret population control programs,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course, the Illuminati. Ten years later, he was dead,

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<v Speaker 1>killed by local law enforcement after drunkenly initiating a shootout

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<v Speaker 1>on his property, or, as many of his followers might

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<v Speaker 1>tell you, at least that's what they want you to believe.

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<v Speaker 1>Milton William Cooper was born in Long Beach, California, in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen forty three. Not much is known about his early life,

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<v Speaker 1>other than the fact he claimed to have served in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States Navy, Air Force, and Naval Intelligence until

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<v Speaker 1>being discharged in nineteen seventy five. Public records, however, show

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<v Speaker 1>only that he served in the Navy, during which he

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<v Speaker 1>completed two tours in Vietnam as a riverboat captain. It

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<v Speaker 1>was sometime in nineteen seventy two, surrounded by the chaos

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<v Speaker 1>of the American Vietnam War, the Cooper developed the distinct

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<v Speaker 1>feeling that, as his biographer Mark Jacobson would put it,

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<v Speaker 1>something wasn't right. Cooper would later claim that it was

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<v Speaker 1>around this time that he came across a series of

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<v Speaker 1>top secret documents that apparently contained details of an agreement

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<v Speaker 1>between the United States government and a sinister alien race

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<v Speaker 1>intent on enslaving entire sections of humanity and creating a

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<v Speaker 1>new world order. In nineteen seventy five, after his discharge,

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper claimed he tried to leak the story to a journalist,

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<v Speaker 1>only to find himself being run off the road by

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<v Speaker 1>a black limousine while outriding his motorbike one afternoon. A

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<v Speaker 1>month later, having miraculously survived this first assault, the mysterious

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<v Speaker 1>Limaux appeared again, only this time Cooper wasn't so lucky,

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<v Speaker 1>the resulting crash leaving him with only one leg. Having

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<v Speaker 1>seemingly got the message, Cooper wouldn't resurface again until nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>eighty four, when he sent an essay to write Gray

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<v Speaker 1>Barker for publication in a newsletter he was putting together

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<v Speaker 1>at the time. The essay, outlining the secret alien plot

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper claimed to have uncovered, cemented his reputation among UFO

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<v Speaker 1>enthusiasts and enabled him to begin hitting the lecture circuit.

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<v Speaker 1>As noted by Richard Ruellis and Rob O'Dell for the

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<v Speaker 1>Arizona Republic, it was after conducting a lecture in Sedona

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen eighty nine that Cooper, now touting himself as

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<v Speaker 1>a former US Naval intelligence member, was introduced to local

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<v Speaker 1>publisher Melody O'Rion Swanson. Having been impressed by Cooper's talk,

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<v Speaker 1>Swanson offered him the opportunity to collate all his research

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<v Speaker 1>and ideas into a book. The result was Beyond a

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<v Speaker 1>Pale Horse, which was published in nineteen ninety one. Comprised

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<v Speaker 1>of almost five hundred pages of official looking documents mixed

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<v Speaker 1>with Cooper's own thoughts and interpretations, the book painted a

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<v Speaker 1>sinister and to many compelling picture of secret powers and

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<v Speaker 1>shadow organizations intent on controlling the world and everyone in it, and,

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<v Speaker 1>as is all too often the case with such conspiracist thinking,

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<v Speaker 1>antisemitism was never far away. One passage highlighting the Rothschide

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<v Speaker 1>family as seemingly the only people ever to have run

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<v Speaker 1>a bank or to have done so for profit, is

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<v Speaker 1>especially jarring. A little less subtle, however, was the inclusion

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<v Speaker 1>of a text known as the Protocols of the Elders

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<v Speaker 1>of Zion, first published in Russia in nineteen o three.

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<v Speaker 1>The text purports to describe a Jewish plan for global

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<v Speaker 1>domination except the entire thing is a hoax. Once described

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<v Speaker 1>as probably the most influential work of antisemitism ever written,

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper would later claim the text's inherent antisemitism was merely

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<v Speaker 1>a smoke screen used to hide its true meaning, which

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<v Speaker 1>is only revealed if you substitute Jews with the Illuminati.

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<v Speaker 1>Taking a rather different view, publisher Melody O'Ryan Swanson elected

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<v Speaker 1>to remove the chapter in the most recent edition. Do

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper's book and the scrawl of ideas laid out within

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<v Speaker 1>It was slow initially, but before long it started to

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<v Speaker 1>take off, having appeared to have struck a chord in short,

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<v Speaker 1>because there was nothing else quite like it, with its

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<v Speaker 1>mix of sincere rhetoric and reams of supposed evidence suggesting

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<v Speaker 1>genuine research had been conducted. For anybody with even an

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<v Speaker 1>inkling that not all was as it seemed in the

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<v Speaker 1>corridors of power, it was at the very least intriguing,

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<v Speaker 1>even if some of the ideas were a little more

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<v Speaker 1>far fetched than others. That Cooper had opened the book

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<v Speaker 1>with the assertion that some of the conclusions he drew

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<v Speaker 1>from his work may be wrong only seemed to bolster

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<v Speaker 1>its sense of authenticity, and as with critics of conspiracy

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<v Speaker 1>theories in general, the problem for the book's detractors was

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<v Speaker 1>that occasionally who was more than a little truth to

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<v Speaker 1>what Cooper was saying. The US government, for example, may

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<v Speaker 1>not have fabricated the moon landings in partnership with the

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<v Speaker 1>Hollywood Studio, but they really did have a secret program

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<v Speaker 1>to investigate and master the use of psychic warfare, despite

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<v Speaker 1>denying it for years. And though the US government is

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<v Speaker 1>not concocting a plan with Bill Gates to use a

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<v Speaker 1>COVID nineteen vaccination drive to secretly implant everyone with a microchip,

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<v Speaker 1>US doctors did secretly infect around seven hundred people in

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<v Speaker 1>Guatemala with syphilis in the nineteen forties in order to

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<v Speaker 1>study the effects of penicillin, none of which is documented

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<v Speaker 1>in Cooper's book, but is just to say that military organizations, governments,

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<v Speaker 1>and public officials lie and obfuscate frequently for all sorts

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<v Speaker 1>of reasons, some benign and some far less so, and

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<v Speaker 1>for all its antisemitism and promoting of thoroughly debunked nonsense

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<v Speaker 1>like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Buried within

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper's text, you might also find proclamation such as how

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<v Speaker 1>cash quote will be replaced by a cashless system that

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<v Speaker 1>will allow the government to monitor our every action by computer,

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<v Speaker 1>and if you attempt to stay out of the system,

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<v Speaker 1>you will not be allowed to buy, sell work, get

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<v Speaker 1>medical care, or anything else we all take for granted.

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<v Speaker 1>Or how quote the sharp increase of prescriptions of psychoactic

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<v Speaker 1>drugs like Prozac and Rittelin to younger and younger children

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<v Speaker 1>will inevitably lead to a rash of horrific school shootings,

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<v Speaker 1>and that these incidents will be used by elements of

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<v Speaker 1>the federal government as an excuse to infringe upon the

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<v Speaker 1>citizen reads Second Amendment rights. It isn't exactly how things

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<v Speaker 1>might be, but when held up against a certain kind

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<v Speaker 1>of light, it can begin to look to some like

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<v Speaker 1>maybe he was on to something. To pick just the

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<v Speaker 1>last quote apart, it seems prescient in light of school

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<v Speaker 1>shootings such as the Columbine High School shooting of nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety nine. And yet, although children are far too often

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<v Speaker 1>and too easily prescribed strong psychoactive drugs, it would be

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<v Speaker 1>by no means the sole reason why a school shooting

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<v Speaker 1>might occur. Furthermore, where Cooper says that such a school

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<v Speaker 1>shooting would be used as an excuse for the federal

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<v Speaker 1>government to infringe on Second Amendment rights, you might just

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<v Speaker 1>as easily say that such a shooting provides a completely

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<v Speaker 1>legitimate reason for a federal government to want to question

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<v Speaker 1>the benefits of Second Amendment rights. There is, as ever,

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<v Speaker 1>some truth in there, but whatsm you view it through

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<v Speaker 1>will determine exactly just what you believe that truth to be.

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<v Speaker 1>Not long after the publication of Behold a Pale Horse,

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper moved to the quiet town of Edgar, Arizona, where

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<v Speaker 1>he began a radio show called Hour of the Time.

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper was a natural behind the microphone and gained many

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<v Speaker 1>more fans with his innate confidence and authority and lack

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<v Speaker 1>of any specific political agenda. In nineteen ninety five, however,

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper's peddling of conspiracy would have a decidedly real world

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<v Speaker 1>impact when in April that year, Timothy McVeigh and Terry

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<v Speaker 1>Nichols parked a bomb outside a federal building in Oklahoma City,

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<v Speaker 1>resulting in the deaths of one hundred and sixty eight people. McVeigh,

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<v Speaker 1>who was a fan of Cooper's, had committed the attack

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<v Speaker 1>in retaliation for what he saw as a gradual, unending

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<v Speaker 1>erosion of citizens' rights by the US government. Then, in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and one, something startling occurred. During the June

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<v Speaker 1>twenty eighth broadcast of his The Hour of the Time show.

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<v Speaker 1>That year, Cooper remarked on an old CNN broadcast he'd

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<v Speaker 1>seen earlier that day, conducted by journalist Peter Arnett in

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<v Speaker 1>March nineteen ninety seven. It has since become infamous as

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<v Speaker 1>the first interview in which Asama bin Laden openly declared

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<v Speaker 1>war on the United States. What had drawn Cooper's eyre, however,

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<v Speaker 1>was how easily it seemed for Arnett to locate bin

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<v Speaker 1>Laden when the US government claimed not to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to find him at the time. It could only mean

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<v Speaker 1>one thing he thought the government wanted him to be seen,

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<v Speaker 1>or in other words, they allowed the interview to go

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<v Speaker 1>ahead so that a new Bogie Man could be beamed

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<v Speaker 1>into the collective conscious of the Western world. As Cooper

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<v Speaker 1>would remark later in that day's show, something terrible is

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<v Speaker 1>going to happen in this country. And whatever is going

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<v Speaker 1>to happen, they're going to blame it on a Psama

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<v Speaker 1>bin Laden. Don't you even believe it? The rest is history.

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<v Speaker 1>Cooper's foreshadowing of the September eleventh attack on the twin

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<v Speaker 1>Towers of the World Trade Center in New York cemented

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<v Speaker 1>his reputation in conspiracist circles forever. In the immediate aftermath

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<v Speaker 1>of the attacks, Cooper took to the airways once more,

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<v Speaker 1>commenting as the two towers collapsed that might they in

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<v Speaker 1>fact have been brought down by controlled demolition orchestrated by

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<v Speaker 1>the US government. This wild speculation would form the flimsy

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<v Speaker 1>bedrock from which the nine to eleven Truth Or Movement

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<v Speaker 1>would spring up. In July two thousand and one, Cooper

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<v Speaker 1>got into an altercation with the local resident of Edgar

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<v Speaker 1>after accusing him of spying on him. At the time,

0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:10.920
<v Speaker 1>the man, Scott Hamblin, had merely parked up with his

0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.440
<v Speaker 1>wife and kids to enjoy the view from a hill

0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:17.880
<v Speaker 1>close to Cooper's house. Cooper had pulled a gun on him,

0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.040
<v Speaker 1>pointed it at his head, and told him to stay

0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:25.920
<v Speaker 1>away from his property. When Hamblin told the local sheriff's office,

0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:30.160
<v Speaker 1>a warrant was issued for Cooper's arrest. At the time,

0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.720
<v Speaker 1>Cooper was under investigation for tax of asion and had

0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.520
<v Speaker 1>become increasingly paranoid and erratic, Convinced the government had a

0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:42.040
<v Speaker 1>vendetta against him. Drinking more and more, he had effectively

0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:45.440
<v Speaker 1>become a recluse, telling friends and listeners that had been

0:15:45.480 --> 0:15:48.000
<v Speaker 1>forced to send his wife and kids abroad for their

0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:53.440
<v Speaker 1>own protection. In truth, they'd simply left him and relocated

0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:58.400
<v Speaker 1>to California. One night in November two thousand and one,

0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:02.680
<v Speaker 1>a group of local OF's deputies staged a fake party

0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:06.280
<v Speaker 1>at the end of Cooper's drive, using loud music, in

0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.560
<v Speaker 1>the hope that it might force him to leave his house,

0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:12.200
<v Speaker 1>enabling them to arrest him without getting into a standoff.

0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:17.840
<v Speaker 1>As planned, Cooper duly appeared at the front door, scrambled

0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.440
<v Speaker 1>into his truck, and sped off down the hill to

0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:24.640
<v Speaker 1>confront the apparent revelers, but Cooper failed to get out

0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.280
<v Speaker 1>of his truck. Realizing it was a trap, he sped

0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:31.080
<v Speaker 1>off back to the house as the deputies gave chase.

0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:35.720
<v Speaker 1>In a chaotic scramble to get inside. Cooper had almost

0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.160
<v Speaker 1>made it to the front door when he spun around

0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:42.320
<v Speaker 1>and opened fire. As a hail of bullets shot out,

0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:46.160
<v Speaker 1>one deputy took a hit to the head, needing no

0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:51.000
<v Speaker 1>further invitation. Another deputy returned fire, hitting Cooper in the

0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:56.520
<v Speaker 1>heart and the head, killing him instantly. When the manner

0:16:56.560 --> 0:17:00.040
<v Speaker 1>of Cooper's death hit the news, one commentator, more and

0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:04.119
<v Speaker 1>any other provided the most in depth coverage, a twenty

0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:08.359
<v Speaker 1>seven year old small time broadcaster from Austin, Texas called

0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:14.879
<v Speaker 1>Alex Jones. Many years later, a message sent by Q,

0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:19.199
<v Speaker 1>the supposed originator of the Q and Non Conspiracy movement,

0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.440
<v Speaker 1>or at the very least an iteration of who Q

0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:27.520
<v Speaker 1>purports to be, tacitly endorsed Cooper's book, sending it immediately

0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:32.399
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