Law&Crime Sidebar - 5 Strangest Conspiracies About the Los Angeles Wildfires

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

The devastating Los Angeles fires have claimed at least 24 lives, destroyed 12,000 structures, and displaced tens of thousands. The natural disaster is also sparking rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories about their cause. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber explores how these narratives gain traction and the broader implications of misinformation during crises with Ashley Banfield, anchor of Banfield on NewsNation and host of the new podcast Drop Dead Serious.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Straight Arrow News app at https://san.com/Sidebar and support journalists like us committed to delivering the truth!HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. views shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. What caused the L.A. fires? It's a fair question. And it's a question that has certainly triggered a lot of speculation, primarily online, from a drone cover-up to energy weapons to a political and economic scheme to even, yes, Sean Diddy Combs, as we separate fact from fiction, we're going to bring on veteran journalist Ashley Banfield to discuss all of these conspiracy theories. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. No story has dominated the headlines more in the first few weeks of

January than the devastating fires that have overtaken Los Angeles. It is an absolute tragedy. what has unfolded. Let me give you some stats that are current at the time of this recording. So at least 24 people reportedly have died. 12,000 structures have been destroyed. According to ABC, 88,000 residents are under evacuation orders. Curfews are in effect in various areas. According to CNN, the Palisades, Eaton, and Hearst fires have burned about 60 square miles. Think about that. According to J.P. Morgan, we are looking at estimated insured losses exceeding $20 billion. Total economic losses could reach as high as $50 billion. And in terms of when this will all end, the two major fires, the Palisades and the Eaton fires, they're still not contained.

And the wins can make those worse or even start new fires. As Deputy Chief of California fire, Bryce Bennett told CNN over the weekend, we need Mother Nature to give us a break. But something else has quickly spread to during the course of these fires. Misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding the fires. For example, FEMA has officially addressed false speculation that it limits assistance to one payment, which it doesn't, or whether if you apply for FEMA assistance that the government or the agency then automatically owns your property. It doesn't.

There's another alarming issue that has popped up. These AI-generated pictures in videos like the Hollywood sign that's been engulfed in flames. That never happened. And the biggest concern centers around what caused these fires in the first place. You see, the official cause of these fires and disasters hasn't been determined as of yet. Now, there are some factors to consider here, like the fact that Southern California was in the middle of an intense dry period. According to NBC, this region had less than 10% of average rainfall since the beginning of October. and you couple that with the winds, the offshore winds, that facilitated the spread of the fires.

I mean, think about it like this. According to CNN, the Palisades fire started last Tuesday, carried by the wind gusts. By the next day, it burned more than 17,000 acres. So without a concrete answer as to how all of this started, this has led to speculation and rumors. And again, conspiracy theories. Reportedly, that includes connections to energy weapons, drones, even Sean. Niddy Combs. Yes, him. We're going to explain all that in a minute. But I mean, according to the Daily Mail, there are those who say, well, this could be from the lithium

batteries on smart electric meters in the L.A. homes. And it's gotten politicized, too. As reported by CNN, Alex Jones claimed on X, formerly Twitter, that the fires were, quote, part of a larger globalist plot to wage economic warfare and deindustrialized the United States before trigger total collapse. By the way, trying to sort out misinformation here with the fires. is just an example of what we've been trying to do all the time on Sidebar. Our goal is to deliver balls and strikes, just the facts. And that is why we're thrilled to partner with a company like Straight Arrow News. So this is an app and website that is focused on objective, unbiased reporting.

As somebody who is always doing research for Sidebar, I know how easy it is to get lost in biased journalism. Well, Strait Arrow News, they help cut through that with tools like the media landscape, which shows where outlets fall on the political spectrum, the media mist tool, highlighting stories that mainstream media. might be skipping. You can check it out for yourself. Go to san.com slash sidebar or click the link in the description. Supporting them means supporting journalists like us who are committed to delivering the truth. So I want to address fact first fiction, how these conspiracy theories spread, what can we do to fight against them and more with one of my favorite people, and I don't say that lightly, one of my favorite people, someone who is making her sidebar debut, an award-winning veteran

journalist, hosts of a brand new podcast called Drop Dead Serious, premieres January 23rd, anchor of Banfield on News Nation. I think you know who I'm talking about. Ashley Banfield joins us right now. Ashley, so happy to have you here on Sidebar. You know, this is so nice of you to have me on. We go back. I don't know if your viewers know this, but we go back a long way. I remember the first time that you showed up on my show when I was at CNN and HLN. And HLN. And I thought, who is this guy? He is so on the ball. You do not always get lawyers who go on TV who know what they're talking about.

But you're- Whatever do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking. Yeah, I know, I know, right? They hang their shingle really well. But I remember from the day one, I said, book this guy early and often because he's really well researched and he's a super smart lawyer. And that was my first impression of you.

well thank you very much i mean that you've been so kind to me uh throughout my career and it's been a privilege being on with you and developing a friendship with you you're again one of my favorite people not only in the industry just one of my favorite people in general so before we even get into thank you so before we even get into the conspiracy theories and the fires i got to talk to you about the podcast first of all i want to know more about the podcast but can i just tell you i love the artwork did you design that because let me tell you when a lot of people make like you know cartoon designs or whatever character it doesn't look like them she looks just like you let's put it up that looks just like you i love it i love it did you design that so um in as much as

i could design something yes but um i had people that worked with me on it and i said here's what i want i want to look like me but in dick tracy kind of cartoonesque um you know fashion and so We went back a few times. It didn't take long, actually, but then ultimately found this image. I actually took a picture of myself kind of like that and said, cartoonize this like Dick Tracy. And then, yeah, and then it was done. There you go.

Now the comic strip can come out right after. So what's the podcast about? Talk to us about it. So I'm going to be doing a weekly, basically looking at all the biggest stories that are percolating at any given time. For instance, if I were doing it this week, it would be like, Are you kidding me? We got to deal with looters in California. Are you kidding me? Throw the book at him. You know, that kind of thing. But I'm starting the podcast with a six-part docu-series that I developed and created and produced over the last year. And it's a story about a guy I grew up with. Uncle Peter. My best friend from high school, it's her uncle. We always called him Uncle Peter. And, you know, 50 years later, he's one of the most notorious sex criminals of all time. on the planet. Wow. I didn't even know that. Oh, my gosh. Well, I was going to ask you to tell.

Oh, is that what it? Oh. His name is Peter Nygaard. And I've been a lot of people watching or listening right now will know who Peter Nygaard is. But he did not get as much coverage in the U.S. as Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Cosby, Diddy, Harvey Weinstein. But if you were to combine all those guys, Peter Nygaard combined is worse than them combined with, you know, it is thought to be thousands. of rapes. And he used his money and his power and his influence to effectuate his, you know, his M.O. And it worked. So it premieres January 23rd. Everybody can check it out. It's unavailable wherever you get your podcasts, right? And YouTube TV. It's, you know, it's YouTube. It's every platform on, yeah, Drop Dead Series. Can't listen. Welcome to our, you know, our podcast community,

Ashley. We've been waiting for you. Okay. So now, putting that to the side you have been doing terrific coverage of the fires on news nation generally speaking what stands out to you about what you're seeing before you even get into the conspiracy theories of it all oh well for starters of course the politicization that started right away it just breaks my heart you know i remember during nine 11 um i was there and i was a victim of it it fell on me and i ran for my life and found refuge and was covered had to spitting out the dust and ashes from my teeth. And I do not recall it being politicized.

I just don't. And there was plenty of politics going on when George W. Bush became president. We were very early into his presidency, but I do not remember. Now, maybe I'm a bit Pollyanna, or maybe as a victim and a journalist at the same time I met and missed it,

but we have arrived at a point, I think, where, sadly, we as Americans can't put this stuff, aside to just care for our fellow Americans. And so that that's number one. Number two, just the devastation and the speed at which had happened with those 100 mile an hour wind gusts on the first night. It's hard to believe what we're seeing and what's happening. You talk about the politicization. I mean, I mentioned Alex Jones comment before about what's really going on here. But let's talk in. Let's get into this. Because I want to start actually with drones. Why? Because funny enough, Chris Cuomo, our colleague over at News Nation, he posted on X yesterday,

hey, where did all the drones in New Jersey go? What happened to all that urgency about it on there? And I thought to myself, that's a really good point. As I was doing the research for this topic, I come to find out that one of the major conspiracy theories about the fires online is connected to the drones. According to the Daily Mail, there are those who believe that the fires were deliberately set to be a distraction from what was going on. with the drones, which means, I mean, look, Ashley, I know that the airwaves change, right? Something dominates the airwaves for a week or two weeks. It changes. But, and I know the new cycle changes, but what do you make of that one? You know, it's the same thing again. I'll go back to

9-11. Building 7 fell because it was a conspiracy and the Jews brought it down. And I'll come on, you know, I get very frustrated again because there are real people dying. There are real people suffering. There are people with literally nothing left, but the shirt they escaped, but they don't have their business because it burned down and they don't have their house because it burned down and so did their daughters and their sons. So I wish we could focus more on that. But, you know, I think just with the advent of everybody being a publisher today, just because you see it in typeset doesn't make the person credible. And so sadly, typeset has this effect on us. Like, ooh, someone has, you know, postulated, this is possible.

If you'd heard someone on the sidewalk wandering with a cup and shaking it for change and saying the same thing, you would have walked right by. But somehow, because somebody sees it in typeset, you know, it gets forwarded, it gets traction, it gets chewed on. And there are a lot of stories, let's be frank, not making it on the air right now, there's a disaster and that is what happens when there's a major hurricane when there's 9-11 when there's these fires that is the story that is most important it is prioritized for this nation it doesn't mean that the other stories go away it doesn't mean that the drone story has gone away it doesn't

mean that you suddenly need to be a detective and imagine that you know you know the facts because most of the people making these ridiculous claims do not know the facts and it's social media too It's a double-edged sword, right? First of all, it can be an amazing tool to get information out there quickly. People can digest it in an easily, you know, digestible fashion. But the other way of looking at it is, I mentioned this before, AI.

So these AI generated videos and pictures, the Hollywood sign on flames, do you, in your experience, in your career right now, do you have ways that you could recommend to people, take a beat, don't look at everything you see on social media, maybe question it because with the advent of AI, and it's only going to get better, What are your concerns? What are your tips, particularly in a natural disaster like this?

What are your recommendation for people? I tell my sons who are 17 and 19, and every time they come to me with some crazy claim they've seen on, you know, Instagram or TikTok, I say the same line. I say, don't be the dumb guy. Don't be the dumb guy. Don't be the dumb guy who just fell for it because you saw it once. And that should be strong for people who, because they are repeat. They want to sound like the smart guy who found something out and wanted to announce it to their friend group there, whoever will be listening. Don't be the dumb guy who said the wrong thing

and then is embarrassed later. I think if we all put our embarrassment meter a little higher, then we might actually take a beat and when we see something that strikes a chord with us, we'll double check it or we'll wait on it. Like we have to do. We see great pictures we want to air them, but we wait because chances are

could have been from another fire, another country. another country. And if you can't find the answer, you can't repeat it. So I wish people, and I think people will do this, Jesse, honestly, because one of the things I'm, I'm heartened to see is in those AI images, the Hollywood sign burning, all the other ones, I've seen the comments saying, quit it with the AI. Enough already. This is AI BS. And it's remarkable how many of the comments say it. Like, people aren't standing for this crap. You know, they're getting clever faster. I think with the engineered imagery that's being funneled at them. And I'm happy about that. They're not just buying it hookline and sinker. And I think the more we get clever, smart, and we

employ the mantra, don't be the dumb guy. I always said to my kids too, if you're going to be around the coffee station at school or eventually at work, you're going to hear the dumb ones who just say anything they heard. Unchecked. And they're going to sound dumb. Don't be one of them. Talking about that, let me ask you this, because this has been proliferating a little bit. We're both in the true crime space. You have covered it expertly on Banfield each night. Diddy? So the man who's facing federal criminal sex crimes charges scheduled to go to trial in May facing numerous sexual assault lawsuits, there are those online who believe that these fires were deliberately set to protect him.

Apparently because his L.A. home, which was raided by the feds last year during the investigation, it hasn't been burned to the ground during the fires. As the Daily Mail reports, his home in Homely Hills is close to the Palisades firepath. There are other celebrities who lost their homes. His is okay. We're seeing the fires, you know, the idea was it was destroying evidence. That's what it is, right? It's to destroy evidence in this case.

It's a way to protect him. I can't believe I'm saying it, but you're combining. one of the biggest crime stories in the past year with now one of the biggest natural disaster stories. I'm not surprised people are making the connection, but I got to get your perspective on this one. Well, I think a lot of people like to do parlor games. It's a really simple fact. Fire science. It hopscotches. It does. Lots of my friends, family, and former neighbors who live in Los Angeles, their homes were spared. when neighbors' homes weren't.

Similarly, people have lost their homes when their next-door neighbor didn't. So that's just the reality is that homes do get spared. Not every building in Los Angeles has been burned to the ground, only about 12 or 13,000 by this count as an estimation. To imagine that someone would start fires in multiple locations around Los Angeles to protect Diddy, first of all, I don't think he's got that many supporters of that level. Second of all, I don't think he has that kind of cachet and sway to make someone do that. And certainly, I don't think anybody on a federal level needed to do anything to bolster their case in any way.

It's just, you know, pure and simple hogwash. Yeah. We're talking about what, the greatest evidence tampering case in U.S. history then? Because then we don't realize everything. There's digital evidence. It's already in the possession of the prosecutor's hands. But I had to say that, which by the way, leads into just a tangential. conspiracy theory because people said, well, what was burned to the ground? What wasn't burned to the

ground? And because there are palm trees that are left standing, I apologize in advance, but I have to talk about this one. There are those who believe this is a result of an energy weapon from the sky, from the space. Now, I don't think it's taking into account some of the characteristics of palm trees, but there were palm trees that were burned to the ground. But there are those who believe, Well, you know, this is a directed energy weapon. I have to repeat it because it's, it's, it's being, you know, metastasize a little bit. It could be Jewish-based lasers. Remember that one?

Oh, yeah. You know, I'm not an arborist, but I do know that palm trees, they do hold a lot more water than other trees. That could be part of the reason. I think also if you were watching those pictures early, you could see the embers skipping along the ground level. So that might have been exactly what was happening is that the winds were blowing the fire. in a lateral formation, and those palm trees are 50, 75 feet up. And maybe that's why those palms are just charred and not burned.

There are all sorts of reasons. And p.S., lots of palm trees are gone. Yep. And that's actually one of my very sad sort of epiphanies about this crisis, is that entire cities have no trees now, you know, and you need trees to breathe. I mean, you've got to have trees in an environment. There's a CO2 issue.

I mean, the toxicity in the air right now, trees help clean that. I don't know what they're going to do to get back to some kind of green space in these massive swaths of land, palisades, just gone. So anybody who says the palm trees survived, maybe a few did, maybe high up, but most of them did not. And it's ridiculous to think otherwise. Let's keep that in mind in terms of how it's going to be rebuilt. because, and you mentioned something about it being politicized.

Well, I have to ask you about this, where actor Mel Gibson has gotten into the mix. So he apparently goes on the Ingram angle, hosted by Laura Ingram on Fox News. And he speculates that in events like this, could it be on purpose, like to make the state empty, perhaps to clear the land because Ingram had talked about making room for high-density housing. He said it was, quote, convenient that there was no water, acknowledged that this. being on purpose is an insane thing to think about, but there was even speculation online, not even for Mel Gibson, but those on X who say, oh, these fires were set to clear the lands for a high-speed rail network, that the fire paths match the roots of the trains.

So again, this idea that it was deliberate for some sort of political or economic reason, your reaction. Yeah, they also match the path of the winds. Wow. But, so it's weird because Mel Gibson was on with Elizabeth Vargas before he was on with Lori Ingram. And he had sort of a sober conversation with Elizabeth Vargas because I don't think Elizabeth was stoking the political fires. That's not News Nation's mandate. And Mel Gibson has a tendency to step in it when, you know, presented with the opportunity.

And I think he really stepped in it. I don't think he should be doing that to that kind, you know, with that kind of an audience. Look, there's no one on this earth, I think, who, well, maybe not on this earth, but there's no one in America, I can imagine, would say, great idea with 100 mile an hour Santa and August's coming up this week to start a few fires to clear some land. Too many important people lost their homes, and those fires were shifting with the winds, which meant that anybody who was getting involved was at risk of losing their homes. to there was no way to predict pathways that this this fire was going to take which is why it was so hard it's been so hard to fight and to contain anybody who was you know in that conspiracy plan would be wiped out too more than likely it just it's it's frustrating to hear it from somebody who's got a megaphone mel Gibson and uh and laur ingram should know better and by the way i think

those maps there are those online who have debunk those maps are saying those they're inaccurate but let me ask you this do you think governor gavin newsom has contributed to this speculation at all. Why do I say that? Because he came out and he talked about loosening regulations in an effort to rebuild, quote, L.A. 2.0. So we talked about how to, how will L.A. be rebuilt? Talked about it being the Marshall Plan of California, referring to rebuilding Europe after World War II. What were your thoughts on that? I think he's damned if he does and he's damned if he doesn't because some cable networks will spend their hour ripping him for whatever he says. and the other cable network will spend their hour praising him.

And very few people will get to the heart of the matter, which is let's talk about the emergency while we're in the emergency and stop postulating what fits your political theory and your echo chamber, because that's what's selling your commercials. And that's what really makes me angry. Anyway, I think Gavin Newsom will probably be criticized for the circumstances that Los Angeles,

that Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles was in. I think there's a reservoir that was dry, but I also know that that is what happens during winter months. That's when you do the maintenance, because when are you going to do the maintenance on a reservoir, right? There's no good time that they pick the times in the winter months because that's the least time that they're used. I saw some coverage today about the timeline of the Palisades Fire.

Our guy, Rich McHugh, did an investigation with the person who was first to call 911. Spotted it first, call 911 first. and then videotaped how long it took for responses. I did find it distressful to see how long it took for water bombers to hit in the palisades. It was about 45 minutes or so. I could be off by a few minutes, but about 45 minutes or so before water bombers actually got to that fire and started putting it. By that point, it was just far too big because the winds were blowing at 40, 50, 60 miles an hour.

That's distressing because I think if you have the palisades without a reservoir, and with Santa Ana Wins coming, you know, predicted for the week, I think you'd be on high alert for response. It didn't seem like there was a big high alert. But listen, I wasn't there. I was looking from one perspective, and that was his lens. And he was the guy that called 911 and saw the fire start, the plume of smoke. And then he saw it grow and grow and grow and grow and saw like a spectator chopper, you know, assessing a scout helicopter, assessing before eventually a firebomber came within about 45 minutes. 45 minutes is an eternity when you have wins like that.

Yeah, and it's a combination of incredibly, incredibly bad factors. And I'm sure there will hopefully be answers as to what happened after this. But right now it's trying to contain these fires and preserve, you know, human life and trying to save whatever property can be saved. You know, I was thinking about it. You and I do this job all the time, right? We cover crimes. We cover crimes.

And there's always second guessing of who could have been there, done more, or stop this, but in the end, sometimes a madman on 42nd Street whips out two butcher knives and kills three people before you can catch them. Should it be in prison? Sure. Did he, was he recidivist? Yeah. But sometimes stuff just does happen that's out of our control. And people need to also bring that into their metrics when they're deciding where to assign blame. Plenty of blame went around on 9-11 too. Well, we had warnings. Well, there's a warning. every single week, you know, like which one is the one you're going to act on? And when you act on it,

are you going to get criticized because you're acting on some crazy guys tweet, you know? The problem is, is that no matter how much you're prepared, bad things are going to happen. I firmly believe that. And then just people who pile on for their own benefit to lay blame sometimes are not doing the best service to us. I think we also see these conspiracy theories because people are trying to make sense of what doesn't make sense. They're like, how could something like this? happen. Oh, it must have been deliberate, right? We can't just assume that it's Mother Nature or it's certain kind of factors that are out of our control. People need that sense of control. They want an explanation for it. And that's why I think, Ashley, right, you don't see conspiracy theories just

with fires. We see it in all different kinds of natural disasters, right? Oh, Hurricane Andrew. Who was on the board to make sure the codes were better than this? You know, like there's always someone who either out of confusion or trying to make sense of it or all. honestly looking to make things better for next time, or those who just want to profit from it, like Alex Jones. I want headlines, and I want lots of money after this. There will always be people who second guess, criticize, find, you know, complete baloney in their claims. I just wish there was a little bit more compassion. And I'm not being Pollyanna here. I've been through plenty of tragedies. So I really do know of what I speak. I just wish people would first and

foremost, use their lens and their filter to understand that there was a lot of suffering. And direct your comments with that in mind, direct your next thought process with that in mind. And don't forget to tag the Red Cross every time you complain, you know. It's a good point. It's a good point. Well, listen, if you want sober analysis, if you want the facts, if you want balls and strikes, you could check out Ashley Banfield. So she's got an amazing new podcast, Drop Dead Serious. I can't wait to tune in January 23rd. Also, Banned, on News Nation. Ashley, it was so great having you here. Please don't be a stranger. You're always welcome on whenever you want. And it was so great seeing you and hopefully I see you again

in person soon. Guaranteed. Thank you so much, Jesse. Always great to talk to you. All right, everybody. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.