James Tracy (conspiracy theorist)

James Frederick Tracy (born 1965) is an American conspiracy theorist[1] and former professor who has espoused the view that some American mass shootings did not occur and are hoaxes.[2]

Tracy holds a PhD degree, awarded by the University of Iowa[3] in 2002.[4] He was previously a tenured professor of communication[5] at Florida Atlantic University[6] at Boca Raton.[7] He maintains that the Boston Marathon bombing was a false flag operation perpetrated by the United States government,[7] and that the Sandy Hook massacre did not occur[5][8] but was a hoax also perpetrated by the United States government.[9] There is a "Sandy Hook truther" movement founded upon this conspiracy theory.[10][11][12][13]

Tracy demanded that Leonard Pozner, the father of Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner, provide proof of his son's death.[5][6][9][14] As a result, Florida Atlantic University initiated a procedure to dismiss Tracy, who had tenure, in December 2015.[19] He was dismissed in January 2016, although a statement from his former employer asserted that Tracy was fired for repeatedly neglecting or refusing to file standard paperwork disclosing activities or employment outside his job that might pose conflicts of interest.[16] On April 25, 2016, he filed suit for wrongful termination.[20] On December 12, 2017, Tracy's termination was upheld by a jury.[21]

In 2018, civil rights attorneys for Tracy filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[22] In November 2020, Tracy lost the appeal,[23] with the Tampa Bay Times reporting, "The opinion said Tracy argued that 'no reasonable juror could have found that his blog speech did not motivate the university to fire him,' but it concluded that he 'cherry-picks' the evidence and that he was fired for insubordination related to not filing reports about his outside activities."[24]

Tracy then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but in December of 2021 the court declined his appeal without comment.[25]

  1. ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (2016-04-26). "Newtown Conspiracy Theorist Sues University That Fired Him". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  2. ^ Williamson, Elizabeth (2022-04-25). "'Crisis Actors'? Where Have I Heard That Before?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference FacStaff was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference HeHimself was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Timberg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Sonawane was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Travis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mosendz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Collins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Time was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aravosis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Read was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goodman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Jerde was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference McPhate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Svrluga was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference CBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference News was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ [15][16][5][6][8][14][17][18]
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Blake was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Jury rules against fired FAU prof James Tracy in free speech case". 12 December 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  22. ^ "Appeal Filed Challenging Florida Atlantic University's Unconstitutional "Outside Activities" Policy – Florida Civil Rights Coalition, P.L.L.C." Archived from the original on 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  23. ^ Winston, Hannah (17 November 2020). "Fired FAU professor James Tracy loses appeal over dismissal; called Sandy Hook mass shooting a hoax". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  24. ^ Saunders, Jim (17 November 2020). "Court upholds firing of FAU professor who questioned Sandy Hook". Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference TampaBayTimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).