HUM 156

1. CONSPIRACY IN DC: THE MURDER
OF SETH RICH
How Conspiracy Theorists Co-Opted a Tragedy
Brandon Brown
HUM 156

2. CONSPIRACY THEORIES AT A
GLANCE

3. BACKGROUND OF CONSPIRACY
THEORIES
• What do you think of when you hear “conspiracy theory?”
• Moon Landing, JFK, etc. historically prominent examples
• WHO do you think of when you hear “conspiracy theorist?”
• Tinfoil Hat-Wearers or Average Everyday Johns and Jane? It’s the latter!
• We have a plethora of facts, knowledge, and research accumulated over
thousands of years – so why do we continue to believe in conspiracy
over truth?

4. FACTS DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS,
AND YOUR FEELINGS DON’T CARE ABOUT
FACTS –OR, WHY WE BELIEVE CONSPIRACIES
• “Psychologists for decades have been performing experiments that show that we are
not quite as rational as we think.”
• “Some of this work bears directly on how we react in the face of… uncomfortable truths
(McIntyre).”
• Harmony between our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors is always sought after – when
they are not harmonious, it affects us negatively (Cognitive Dissonance)
• Conspiracies can be a way for those who have lost power to explain their losses and to
regroup.
• Joseph Uscinski and Joseph Parent title a chapter “Conspiracy Theories Are for Losers” in
their book, American Conspiracy Theories
• Solomon Asch, Opinions and Social Pressure: “…we may discount even the evidence of
our own senses if we think that our beliefs are not in harmony with [people] around us
(McIntyre)”

5. FACTS OF THE SETH RICH CASE

6. SETH CONRAD RICH
1. Digital Campaigner for the Democratic
Party
2. Worked for Democratic campaigns
since college
3. Moved to DC upon graduation for
employment, later joining the DNC
4. Lived in the Bloomingdale
neighborhood

7. JULY 10, 2016, 4:19 AM • THE MURDER
• Left a bar at 1:30 AM; last time reportedly seen alive
• Called his girlfriend at 2:05 AM, hanging up “minutes before he was
shot”
• Phone call was over two hours long
• Shot twice in the back one block away from his apartment
• Bruised hands and face
• Found conscience, but later passed away at the hospital from his injuries

8. AFTERMATH AND
ASSAILANTS
• Considered a botched armed robbery
by the Metropolitan Police Dept.
• No items were taken – only sign of
attempted theft is a damaged
watchband
• No leads on assailants
• Surveillance footage only shows his
possible assailants’ legs

9. WHAT CONSPIRACY THEORISTS THINK
ABOUT THE CASE
• Believe Rich was murdered at the personal request of then-Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton for allegedly leaking Democratic National
Committee emails.
• Connected to the Clinton Body Count Theory (conspiracy that Hillary and Bill
Clinton killed a number of their political rivals)
• Other offshoots believe Rich was killed by the Russians
• Trump advisor and pundit Roger Stone erroneously claimed Rich was
murdered while he was on his way to meet with the FBI to discuss
election fraud (Guo)

10. SOCIAL MEDIA HELPED SPREAD THE
CONSPIRACIES

11. WHY?
• Suspicion over Rich’s valuables being left behind (aside from the torn watchband)
• The long running disdain for the Clintons by conspiracy theorists (read: Clinton Body
Count)
• Given credibility by well-known proponents of the theory
• Roger Stone, Wikileaks/Julian Assange, Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, etc.
• Preservation of belief with cognitive dissonance, especially by Trump supporters and
more minorly by Bernie Sanders supporters
• Allowed conservative media to distract from Trump’s various allegations leading up to
the 2016 election
• Newt Gingrich: “It was this young guy who… was disgusted by the corruption of the
Democratic National Committee. (Guo)”

12. THE CONSENSUSES
• Officially, Seth Rich was murdered by two would-be-burglars-turned-
assailants who have yet to be identified and prosecuted.
• It is also generally believed that Rich was not the DNC email leaker
• Even Fox News retracted their story on Seth Rich for a lack of credible sources.
• The conspiracy theorists believe Rich was intentionally and
premeditatedly murdered by hitmen hired by the Clinton as retribution
for leaking
• Some variants/twists blame the Russians or the FBI

13. MY THOUGHTS ON THE THEORY
• I think the facts of the case in combination with the circumstances
surrounding Seth Rich, the DNC emails, and Russian election interference
would lead a rational person to not believe this theory.
• Rich’s area of residence was recently plagued with an increase in crime, and he was
out at an hour typical of muggings/robbery.
• While Rich was a “Digital Campaigner,” he probably lacked the technical expertise to
bypass the security systems to access the DNC emails
• A person close to Rich stated that “[i]t was crazy [that Russian intelligence broke
into DNC computers]… especially for Seth. He said, ‘Oh, my God. We have a foreign
entity trying to get involved in our elections?’ That made him so angry. (Roig-
Franzia)”
• The actions of Russia from 2016-present (Ukraine, Trump, etc.) also provide
some context for their involvement and cunning to invoke Seth Rich

14. WORKS CITED
• https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-43727858
• https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-
rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/seth-rich-wasnt-just-
another-dc-murder-victim-he-was-a-meme-in-the-weirdest-
presidential-election-of-our-times/2017/01/18/ee8e27f8-dcc0-11e6-
918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html
• https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-cognitive-bias-can-explain-
post-truth/
• https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/01/the-enduring-allure-of-
conspiracies/
• https://www.vox.com/2019/8/10/20800195/clintonbodycount-
conspiracy-theory-jeffrey-epstein

15. PICTURES CITED
• https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/15FD7/production/_100917009_charlie.jpg
• https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/qanon-signs2-pol-mem-
180802_hpEmbed_21x13_992.jpg
• http://esq.h-cdn.co/assets/17/21/768x768/square-1495657983-credit-metropolitan-
police-department-poster.jpg
• https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/c_fill,g_auto,w_1200,h_675,ar_16:9/https%3A%2F%2Fc
dn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F170522220832-seth-rich-facebook.jpg
• httphttps://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/anti-
vaccine_protest_washington_012322_ap_patrick_semansky.jpegs://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/97
6x549/p08dyl30.jpg
• https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/8ACB/production/_100813553_1stcontweet.j
pg.webp
• https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/63BB/production/_100813552_snipstone.jpg.
webp
• https://www.pngpix.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PNGPIX-COM