New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman published a poem suggesting the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks were a false flag operation used by the U.S. government to wage war in the Middle East, according to a new report.
Bowman from at least 2011 through 2014 maintained a personal blog under the web address, "Relentless-Strongback.Blogspot.com," the Daily Beast reported Monday night. In one post published in the form of a poem—which Bowman penned as he served as principal of a public New York City middle school—the Democrat questioned whether a plane actually hit the Pentagon on Sept. 11 and suggested the United States "blamed" Osama bin Laden for orchestrating the attacks in a bid to declare war against Iraq and Afghanistan.
"2001/Planes used as missiles/Target: The Twin Towers," Bowman wrote in one stanza. "Later in the day/Building 7/Also Collaspsed [sic]/Hmm…/Multiple explosions/Heard before/And during the collapse/Hmm…"
"Allegedly/Two other planes/The Pentagon/Pennsylvania/Hijacked by terrorist/Minimal damage done/Minimal debris found/Hmmm…" Bowman continued. "We blamed Osama/Went to war in Iraq/Captured Saddam/Killed him. Bin Laden is Afghan/So we went to war there too." Bin Laden was born into a billionaire Saudi family and was never an Afghan citizen.
Bowman went on to cite two conspiratorial "documentary" videos that informed his views: Loose Change and Zeitgeist. The former contends that the U.S. government carried out the Sept. 11 attacks, while the latter posits that a cabal of international bankers control the world. Bowman's poem mentions the director behind Zeitgeist—Peter Joseph—by name, as well as other prominent conspiracy theorists.
The revelation comes as Bowman faces a difficult primary campaign against Westchester County executive George Latimer, who launched his campaign against the congressman in December. Bowman has repeatedly referenced the Sept. 11 attacks during his tenure as a congressman, having called for a "9/11-type commission" to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Bowman told the Daily Beast he "regrets" posting the poem and said his "life's work has proven" he does not believe the conspiracy theories he espoused.
"Well over a decade ago, as I was debating diving into a doctoral degree, I explored a wide range of books, films, and articles across a wide swath of the political spectrum and processed my thoughts in a personal blog few people ever read," Bowman said.
"I don't believe anything that these cranks have ever said, and my life's work proves that," he continued. "As a congressman, I've … stood up to MAGA extremists, and I've called out the endless bullshit of the far-right."