Devices: Talk Of A October Surprise

Minutes after news broke of “potential explosive devices” being mailed to the homes of former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with CNN’s New York City studio, the dark corners of the conservative internet were declaring it a secret plot to gin up empathy for Democrats.

The Daily Beast reports cries that the bomb threats were merely a “false flag” operation were evident on Twitter and pro-Trump forums. Many of the personalities pushing the claim were fringe types. But not all of them.

Premiere Networks talk host Rush Limbaugh hinted that the attempted bombings were set-up by Democrats, saying they would serve a political “purpose.”

“It’s happening in October,” Limbaugh said. “There’s a reason for this.”

Limbaugh added: "And we here at the EIB Network heartily and energetically endorse the premise that we oppose bombs for any purpose whatsoever in domestic politics or what have you. The only time we support bombs is during warfare, declared-hostilities warfare. But bombs in politics or caravans or whatever, we heartily — we heartily — condemn this dastardly action and would in no way encourage it or support it. So just to have it on the record."

Similarly, Westwood One radio host Michael Savage outright declared that “it’s a high probability that the whole thing is set up as a false flag to gain sympathy for the Democrats... and to get our minds off the hordes of illegal aliens approaching our southern border.”

John Cardillo, a former New York Police Department officer turned right-wing radio host, initially denounced political violence on both sides of the aisle, but quickly broadcast his skepticism that the threats were legit. “Just too coincidental that two weeks before Election Day, as the ‘blue wave’ has turned into a ripple, and the left is losing ground because of incivility and violent rhetoric, explosive devices show up in the mailboxes of Soros, Clinton, and Obama,” he wrote on Twitter. He later deleted the tweet.

Conservative Actor James Woods called the "potential explosive devices" that the Secret Service intercepted from Bill and Hillary Clinton's home an "obvious political stunt."

In a now-deleted tweet, the actor, 71, took to Twitter to tell his 1.8 million followers that the former first family is not relevant enough to send a bomb.

Woods appeared to walk back his "political stunt" claim with another tweet that remains on his Twitter account.

The mail bombs sent to CNN and Democratic leaders on Wednesday are an “obvious hoax” according to a bomb disposal expert who argues the stunt was clearly designed for maximum political impact, not maximum damage.

Tom Sauer, a former Navy bomb disposal expert, has analyzed the evidence presented by CNN and declared that the “pipe bomb” are obvious fakes, and whoever made the bomb wanted it to be “painfully obvious to anyone and everyone that it’s a ‘bomb.'”

As a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician, Sauer was responsible for conducting the demolition of hazardous munitions, pyrotechnics, and retrograde explosives using detonation and burning techniques.

Sauer also recognizes a “silly looking” prop from a media propaganda campaign designed to influence a midterm election when he sees one, reports yournewswire.com.