The pipe bomb intercepted at the New York City headquarters of CNN overnight was plastered with a parody of the black ISIS flag, including a reference to comedian Larry The Cable Guy, raising further questions about the person or group who sent the explosive device.
MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes noted that an image of the bomb, which was shared by CNN itself, showed a black patch on the cylindrical device.
At first glance, it appeared to be a copy of the radical Islamist group’s logo, but further inspection showed it was a gee-up featuring the silhouettes of several women and the catchphrase “Get Er Done”.
Yup. pic.twitter.com/fhnHKDYCfC
— ➖Dustin Miller➖ 💙💛 (@spdustin) October 25, 2018
NBC reports a senior law enforcement official subsequently confirmed the imagery was the ISIS flag parody.
The FBI is analysing the device, along with bombs addressed to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama.
Authorities are also investigating the post marks and stamps present on each envelope, in the hopes of tracking down the origin of the packages.
It stands to reason they would also take a keen interest in the flag, and the kind of person who would choose to slap it on a homemade explosive device.
The parody image has been circulated online since at least September 2014, when it appeared in a right-wing parody news article riffing on ISIS.
While the flag itself could be construed as some kind of sick attempt at trolling, deranged right-wing conspiracy theorists have already begun speculating the devices were a false flag attack orchestrated by left-wing terrorists.
DeSantis supporter Rob Korhonen made these signs and says the bomb stories are “bulls**t.” Calls them fake and a setup to make Trump look bad. “They’re the ones doing the violence, not us” pic.twitter.com/672KcI52L5
— Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) October 24, 2018
As for Larry The Cable Guy, aka Daniel Lawrence Whitney? Well, he had this to say about the entire deal:
BREAKING: 1 of the bombs sent out today was discovered to be the movie “Coach Carter.”
— Larry The Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) October 24, 2018
Investigations are ongoing.
