Following news of disgraced financier and multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s death by apparent suicide while in jail on Saturday, the internet has unleashed a slew of conspiracy theories suggesting that his sudden death was, in fact, planned.
Donald Trump added fuel to one hypothesis in particular after retweeting a conspiracy theory that suggests former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign rival Hilary, are somehow connected to Epstein’s death, NBC News .
Early Saturday morning, Epstein was discovered unresponsive in his cell at a Manhattan jail.
He was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Early reports suggested he died from cardiac arrest, but sources have since come forward to say he died from apparent suicide after having hanged himself .
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The FBI is reportedly currently investigating his death.
Despite multiple news outlets reporting it as suicide, the internet has begun speculating there’s much more to this death.
One thing that has people particularly dubious that Epstein took his own life is the fact that he had been placed on 24/hr suicide watch just prior to his death. If this were true, they aren’t sure how he could have possibly been able to hang himself with such consistent and constant monitoring.
However, various news outlets have since reported that Epstein was actually taken off suicide watch 12 hours prior to his death.
Another particularly suspicious aspect surrounding Epstein’s death is the timing as it relates to his case.
The multimillionaire was in jail for charges related to sex trafficking, particularly soliciting sex from minors.
On Friday , court documents were unsealed which allegedly provide the names of other prominent public figures who enlisted Epstein’s help in securing minors for sex. Such names include former US Senator George Mitchell, Bill Clinton, and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.
Two dueling conspiracy theories suggest either Trump or the Clintons are behind Epstein’s death.
Each theory has prompted two different trending hashtags on Twitter: #TrumpBodyCount and #ClintonBodyCount.
It certainly doesn’t help Bill Clinton’s case that his name reportedly appears in the unsealed court documents which effectively corroborate previous reports that he frequented Epstein’s private so-called “sex island.”
Trump himself appears to have jumped aboard the #ClintonBodyCount train after retweeting a conspiracy theory.
On Saturday, the president shared a twitter post to his more than 63 million followers from conservative commentator and comedian Terrence K. Williams.
“Death of SUICIDE on 24/7 SUICIDE WATCH? Yeah right!” Williams writes in the post. “How does that happen #JeffreyEpstein had information on Bill Clinton & now he’s dead.”
In a two minute-long video, Williams accuses the Clintons of being responsible for Epstein’s death and offers what he believes is supporting evidence.
He says that Epstein’s “suicide” is the result of “somebody not doing their job, or somebody got paid not to do — not to do their job, so somebody can get knocked off, so information don’t come out.”
He concludes the video with one final statement: “Word on the street is the Clintons did it. But I don’t know nothing. I’m just another Black man on Twitter.”
The video has since gone viral, presumably from Trump retweeting it to his own Twitter account.
It has now racked up 4.2 million views and has been retweeted more than 60,000 times.
In the comments, people are offering their views on Epstein’s death, with most either taking a side in the Trump or Clinton theories.
“Epstein had dirt on @realDonaldTrump,” one user wrote, “and he had him killed, that’s how it happens.”
As previously mentioned, the FBI are reportedly investigating Epstein’s death.
So there’s no telling when or if we’ll ever know for sure what happened. Naturally, the people of the internet will attempt to quell curious minds with conspiracy theories, convincing others of their own speculations.
And, with people like Trump fueling such largely baseless claims, these theories will only continue to spread.
h/t: NBC News