Online conspiracy accounts spent the weekend trying to turn Senator Lindsey Graham’s death into a foreign-assassination plot, despite an early medical finding pointing to a likely cardiovascular cause and reporting that law enforcement did not suspect foul play.
Graham, the 71-year-old Republican from South Carolina, died Saturday night at his Capitol Hill residence, hours after returning from Ukraine. During that trip, he had announced an agreement to sanction buyers of Russian oil.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., said in a preliminary report that Graham likely suffered a tear in his aorta associated with hardening of the arteries, according to the Associated Press. The office said the death certificate would remain pending until toxicology and microscopic testing were complete, after which officials would update the cause and manner of death.
CNN, citing multiple law enforcement officials, reported that investigators did not suspect foul play.
Influencers filled the gap with theories
That did not slow the speculation machine. By Sunday morning, as Graham’s colleagues publicly mourned him, extremists, right-wing influencers and political commentators were circulating unsupported claims that Iran, Russia or Israel had arranged his death.
Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist and ally of President Donald Trump, suggested on X that Iran may have been involved. She pointed to posters displayed during the Tehran funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that called for the assassination of several Americans, including Trump, Loomer and Graham. Loomer asked whether Graham had been poisoned by a foreign adversary and called for an investigation. Her post received 1.8 million views, according to WIRED.
Loomer also cited a video from Explosive Media, a pro-Iranian group that WIRED has reported has used AI-generated Lego-style videos to troll the United States. The video, later removed from X but still available on Instagram, appeared to imply Iranian responsibility by showing a character marking off the name Lindsey, with Laura listed beneath it.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that the bureau was assisting local authorities and had made resources available. Some conspiracy accounts treated that routine-sounding statement as proof of concealment. Tony Seruga, who says he is a former CIA contractor, claimed without evidence that the FBI would not respond to a natural death. In another widely shared post, Seruga called the medical examiner’s aortic-dissection explanation a convenient cover for chemical attack, again without evidence.
Russia and Israel were also pulled in
Other commentators focused on Russia, citing Graham’s support for Ukraine and his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Marc Thiessen, a political commentator, wrote on X that Putin had poisoned and killed opponents and said Graham’s recent presence in Kyiv justified an autopsy and toxicology screen to exclude foul play.
Bill Browder, a British financier long targeted by Russia, also urged immediate testing to rule out foul play. His post was viewed 1.5 million times, according to WIRED.
Alex Jones devoted hours of his show to conspiracy theories about Graham’s death and claimed, without evidence, that Graham had actually died during a visit to a Ukrainian drone factory that Russia later bombed.
Some users also highlighted a deleted post by Putin adviser Alexander Dugin that had advocated Graham’s assassination. Dugin, however, blamed Israel. In an X post viewed 1.2 million times, he wrote that he doubted Iran was responsible and suggested Mossad killed Graham to push Trump toward renewed war with Iran.
As of the reported medical and law-enforcement accounts, the public evidence points in the other direction: a pending medical investigation, a preliminary cardiovascular finding and no reported suspicion of criminal involvement.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
