Experts: Bath candidate’s conspiracy theory, numerology beliefs could be problematic

BATH — Bath City Council candidate Brandon Sewall has posted content online involving numerology and conspiracy theories accusing celebrities and politicians of being members of pedophilia rings. Academics warn that these beliefs could be problematic in a public official.

Sewall reposted to his Facebook page earlier this month the video “The Devil in Hollywood,” which accuses some celebrities, Democrats and high-ranking government officials of being of a satanic cult that operates a pedophile ring, among other unfounded claims.

Sewall declined to say whether he believed this theory, and also declined to explain why he shared the video.

Sewall wrote in an email to The Times Record that he doesn’t subscribe to QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory that espouses similar beliefs as those presupposed in the “The Devil in Hollywood.”

Joseph Uscinski, a University of Miami political science professor with a focus in conspiracy theories, warned that someone in a position of power or holding public office believing those theories can be risky.

“When you give people authoritative power and they think there are gangs of child molesters everywhere, they may act on that and that’s the problem,” said Uscinski. “That’s not to say everyone will do that, but it’s something we worry about.”

Sewall also made two videos on Facebook in which he assigns numbers to letters in names and links them to dates using Gematria, a form of numerology. In one video, Sewall said he is using numerology to uncover how “it is being used against us by certain individuals.”

Sewall declined to say who those individuals were or give an example as to how numerology was being used against people, writing that “is on a must need to know basis. Perhaps a later date.”

Sewall declined to further explain his use of and belief in numerology but wrote that: “Of course I wouldn’t use numerology in my decision making” as a member of the city council.

Jack O’Brien, a professor of mathematics at Bowdoin College, said the use of numerology in a democratic setting is “troubling” because “there cannot be any public debate: either you buy it, or you don’t.”

“A regular citizen cannot check if it is ‘correct’ using other evidence that we use in our daily life, since its logic only works for other practitioners of numerology,” said O’Brien. “It also suggests that the leader themselves rejects other forms of evidence — like data or history — in making their decisions.”

Sewall also said he doesn’t believe facemasks protect people from spreading COVID-19 and instead “a plant-based alkaline diet, proper rest and physical training outdoors is all one needs. Your lymphatic system is designed to excrete toxins/waste and any virus.”

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, face masks are recommended when around other people because they act as a barrier to prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes or talks.

“This is called source control,” the CDC states on its website. “This recommendation is based on what we know about the role respiratory droplets play in the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, paired with emerging evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that shows masks reduce the spray of droplets when worn over the nose and mouth.”

Sewall appears on Bath ballots running for a three-year at-large term on the council against Robert Savary, Jamison Pacheco, Jason Homan and Elizabeth Dingely.

He is also running for a two-year at-large term against incumbent Julie Ambrosino.

Sewall said he is only campaigning for the two-year term, and said he signed off on invalid paperwork that put his name in the running for both races. Bath City Clerk Darci Wheeler said Sewall refused to sign a withdrawal form by the proper deadline to remove his name from the three-year race.

Asked what his prior experience was, Sewall wrote: “My field time experience is immense. … Having spent a number of years living in New York City and traveling the world, I understand cultural differences, lines of communication, and the needs of others in order to presume good judgment.”

His Facebook profile indicates he has been a fitness trainer since at least 2011 and that he studied hotel and resort management at Southern New Hampshire University.

“I am fit for the Bath City Council because I am not an extremist,” Sewall wrote. “I see both sides and can place myself in others’ shoes.”

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