Red Pill Expo at Cajundome this weekend to discuss COVID-19 conspiracy theories – The Advocate
A group that believes the COVID-19 pandemic is part of a plot for elites to seize global power is bringing a host of conspiracy theorists to speak this weekend at the Cajundome Convention Center.
The Red Pill Expo 2021, a creation of author and conspiracy theorist G. Edward Griffin, will meet in Lafayette Saturday and Sunday and is expected to draw 750 visitors. The event, which includes discussions on topics such as “Follow the patents and you will understand COVID” and “Vaccine resistance, a global movement,” is billed on its website as “helping truth seekers understand how the world really works.”
Admission ranges from nearly $400 for VIP tickets to $215 for both days, $125 for one day or $45 to live stream.
The event has been held in other cities around the country in recent years with a mission to bring people together to discuss “fake narratives, fake history and fake news,” according to its website.
It showcases many of the “alt-right theories,” a Southern Poverty Law Center spokesman said prior to the 2018 event in Washington.
The event is “a marketplace for conspiracy theories,” said Ryan Lenz with the SPLC.
The red-pill reference can be traced back to the film “The Matrix” in which the main character is encouraged to “take the red pill,” which will open his eyes to the truth.
Griffin, according to published reports, believes cancer is a nutritional deficiency that can be cured by taking a certain compound, and that HIV does not cause AIDS. He is a longtime member of the conservative John Birch Society.
A notable speaker planned is Dr. Lee Merritt of Nebraska, who made the claims that getting vaccinated increases your risk of death from COVID, something data does not support. Published reports indicated she claimed the pandemic is a global conspiracy aimed to exerting social control.
The presentations at the event will be based on “documented information,” said event director Dan Happel.
“One of the things we work on very diligently is we do not provide false information,” Happel said. “We only provide verifiable, documented information.”
The event landed in Lafayette, he noted, due to the efforts of local businessman John Cambre, who attended two previous Red Pill Expo events. Cambre is owner of one of the Ground Pat’i Grill and Bar, which is listed on the expo’s website as an exhibitor.
In a prepared statement, Cajundome officials said they do not discriminate on the basis of “political agenda, music genre or artist.” The event had been booked within the last six months, director Pam Deville said.
“We are merely a venue,” the statement read.
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