Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo issued a scalding rebuttal to conspiracy theorists at his press conference on Friday before saying an emotional thank you to the members of his department and to the people of Las Vegas.
"Alt-right" conspiracy mongers have declared their belief that the U.S. government staged the massacre in Las Vegas in which gunman Stephen Paddock killed 59 people and injured more than 500. At a press conference on Monday, Lombardo batted aside the insistent questioning of "citizen journalist" Laura Loomer, who was arrested last summer for interrupting a performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar."
After Monday's outburst, individuals lacking press credentials were barred from press conferences, meaning Loomer was not allowed into the presentation on Friday. Lombardo, however, aimed a portion of his remarks at her and other conspiracy believers when he addressed discrepancies in the sheriff's department and the MGM Grand's timeline of Paddock's stay at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Some accounts said he checked in on Sep. 25 and others said Sep. 28.
In fact, Paddock occupied the room for all of the days in question, but altered the name on his check-in on the 28th to include his girlfriend Marilou Danley's name, in spite of the fact that she was in the Philippines at the time.
"So that was the confusion with that, no matter what the perception is, whether we were being non-transparent or attempting to be subversive is false. I was acting on the information I had at the time I was provided it."
He said that "a great deal" of investigators' time went into establishing the timeline of events and if anyone wants to call the sheriff's department "incompetent," he said, "I am very offended with that characterization."
Thousands of people have coordinated to shed light on the investigation, Lombardo said, and "I still stand by" the teams' work.
"There is no conspiracy between the FBI, between LVMP and the MGM," he said emphatically. "Nobody is attempting to hide anything."
Later, he gave an emotional thank you for the acts of heroism performed by members of his department and the community. As tears welled in his eyes, a fellow officer placed a hand on Lombardo's shoulder, saying, "Take your time."
"So at this point, I want to thank the community," he said. "I want to thank you for letting me be your sheriff. And 'Vegas strong.'"
Watch Part One, embedded below:
Watch Part Two, embedded below:
