Laura Loomer

About

Laura Loomer is an American far-right activist and conspiracy theorist. She is known for strong allegiance to the presidency and policies of the Donald Trump White House, engaging in a series of political stunts, such as chaining herself to the headquarters of the social media company Twitter, after being banned from the platform.

Online History

On March 30th, 2015, Laura Loomer, then a student at Barry University, appeared in an undercover video for Project Veritas, a far-right activist group known for producing doctored videos for political weaponization (video below, left). In the video, Loomer attempts to convince the school to allow for a student club that supports the terrorist group ISIS. Loomer was suspended from the college after participating in the video. The university states that her "alleged actions violate Barry University’s Code of Conduct."^[1]

On June 16th, 2017, Loomer and fellow far-right activist Jack Posobiec interrupted a controversial staging of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in New York City that depicted President Donald Trump in the title role (video below, right). Following Ceasar's assassination in the play, she rushed the stage and yelled, "Stop the normalization of political violence against the right! This is unacceptable!" Loomer was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.^[2]

Twitter Banning

In November 2018, Loomer was banned from Twitter after tweeting a series of Islamophobic sentiments regarding Minnesota State Representative Ilahn Omar. Loomer wrote, "Isn't it ironic how the twitter moment used to celebrate 'women, LGBTQ, and minorities is a picture of Ilhan Omar? Ilhan is pro Sharia Ilhan is pro- FGM Under Sharia, homosexuals are oppressed and killed. Women are abused and forced to wear the hijab. Ilhan is anti-Jewish." Twitter said the tweet violated terms of service (shown below).^[3][4]

On November 29th, Loomer handcuffed herself outside the Twitter offices in New York as a form of protest against the banning.^[5] Periscope user @drjaneruby posted a video of the stunt on the site. It was viewed by more than 1 million people in 24 hours (shown below).

As news spread about the stunt, people began mocking Loomer, her politics and her actions on Twitter.

Several media outlets covered Loomer's protest, including Mashable, ^[3] The Verge,^[4] NBC^[6] and more.

Protest on Nancy Pelosi's Lawn

On January 14th, 2019, Daily Beast writer Will Sommer reported^[9] that Loomer had "jumped the fence" at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's home. Additionally, Loomer "set up a tent protesting immigration." The post features photographs of Loomer and her tent on Pelosi's property. Within 24 hours, the post received more than 3,300 retweets and 8,400 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

Sommer reported that at one point Loomer had attempted to enter Pelosi's home but could not because the doors locked. He wrote, "Now Laura Loomer is back and saying she tried to open the doors to Pelosi's house, but they were locked. This seems like an unwise thing to be admitting!" The tweet received more than 1,500 retweets and 7,200 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left). Police eventually arrived, but Loomer refused to hand over identification. Sommer wrote, "The police have arrived! But Loomer and crew are refusing to give identification, saying '[California Governor] Gavin Newsom said we don't need ID's.' Cops aren't thrilled." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 1,200 retweets and 4,900 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center).

People online mocked Loomer's protest, particularly her climbing over a fence to enter Pelosi's property, which they found ironic, considering Loomer was protesting Pelosi's refusal to agree to fund President Donald Trump's southern border wall. Twitter^[10] user @alexkasprak tweeted, "a sobering indictment of a fence's utility to protect from intruders." The tweet received more than 80 retweets and 275 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).

That day, The Daily Dot ^[11] reported on the story.

Lawsuit Against Twitter and CAIR

On April 18th, Laura Loomer filed a lawsuit^[12] against Twitter and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) according to The Daily Dot.^[13] The complaint filed claims that CAIR and Twitter worked together to ban Loomer from Twitter and claims Twitter acted hypocritically as they did not ban Rep. Ilhan Omar despite alleged anti-semitic remarks. The document also outlines a defense of Loomers tweet. Right-wing Twitter users congratulated Loomer. Twitter user @KayaJones tweeted, "Feeling good today! Love this reminder of what #winning looks like! Laura Loomer good for you for filing! Go get em girl! #MAGA" (shown below). The tweet gained over 2,800 likes and 700 retweets in a day.

Reputation

Laura Loomer is known in most media circles as both a provocateur and conspiracy theorist, similar to Milo Yiannopoulos, Alex Jones and Mike Cernovich. Her participation in videos with Project Veritas, as well as high-profile political stunts, have made her a controversial figure within the conservative media landscape.

Criticism

Laura Loomer has been criticized for what many see as "attention-seeking" stunts and dubious claims about various politicians and media personalities. Conservative news outlet The Washington Examiner^[8] called her "idiotic." Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor and member of conservative student action group Turning Point USA Kyle Kashuv tweeted^[7] about her Twitter protest. He wrote, "Ratio me all you want, but Laura Loomer acting like an idiot and handcuffing herself to @Twitter is crazy enough, forget about wearing a star that my grandparents who got burned alive were. Comparing being kicked off a private company’s platform to millions dying is despicable." The tweet received more than 730 retweets and 3,800 likes in 24 hours.

Search Interest

External References