Political convention in Allen to feature noteworthy conspiracy theorists – Star Local Media

A political conference hosted at the Delta Hotel in Allen will feature a slate of prominent conservative speakers, many of whom have aligned with a series of baseless conspiracy theories.

The May 13-16 event, dubbed the “Faith and Freedoms Conference,” is co-hosted by Matt Couch, a conservative commentator whose unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich made him the subject of a March 2018 lawsuit from Rich’s brother, Aaron Rich. As part of the settlement, Couch issued a video retracting the conspiracy theories, saying they “were largely driven by information given to us by a single source who we now believe provided us with false information and who as of this date has retracted his statements.”

Couch, a well-known conservative social media icon who has been retweeted by former President Donald Trump numerous times, is hosting the conference with Brian Gibson, a Kentucky-based pastor who attracted controversy after speaking to protesters immediately before the Jan. 6 Capitol uprising. While Gibson took no part in any violent confrontations associated with that event whatsoever and even condemned them, he did reportedly take a selfie with the “Q Shaman,” who became one of the event’s most recognizable rioters.

Also speaking at the Allen event is a former aide to Trump and convicted felon George Papadopoulos. After Papadopoulos’s 12-day prison sentence and 12-month supervised release, he published a book in which he described himself as a “deep state target” who was “caught in the crosshairs” from those looking “to bring down President Trump.”

Another notable speaker billed for the conference is Juanita Broaddrick, who attracted media attention in 1999 after accusing then-President Bill Clinton of raping her in 1978, when he served as attorney general of Arkansas. Broaddrick found herself in the public spotlight once again in 2016 when Hillary Clinton ran against Trump in that year’s presidential race and in 2017 during the rise of the #MeToo movement.

This conference comes two weeks before a similar one in Dallas, which features conservative speakers more aligned with QAnon conspiracy theories such as Gen. Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell. Like the Faith and Freedoms Conference, Papadopoulos is also a scheduled speaker for this event.

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