A former Navy SEAL is pushing back against a baseless conspiracy theory about the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Robert O'Neill, who claims to have fired the shot that killed the al-Qaeda leader, took to Twitter on Tuesday to respond to a viral post that was retweeted by Donald Trump. The tweet in question was shared by a since-suspended account with ties to the QAnon movement. The post linked to a conspiracy theory article that claimed President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden had colluded to stage bin Laden's killing, and then paid the Iranian government to kill the Navy's SEAL Team 6 as part of the cover-up.
The conspiracy theory alleges that the SEALs had killed bin Laden's body double, and those who were involved with the raid were killed in a 2011 helicopter shootdown in Afghanistan. According to the Washington Post, none of the SEAL Team 6 members were aboard the aircraft.
"Hiden Biden and Obama may have had Seal Team 6 killed!" the tweet read. "EXPLOSIVE: CIA Whistleblower Exposes Biden's Alleged Role with the Deaths of Seal Team- Claims to have Documented Proof. RETWEET!!!"
Shortly after Trump's retweet, O'Neill took to the platform to issue a response: "Very brave men said goodby to their kids to go kill Osama bin Laden. We were given the order by President Obama. It was not a body double. Thank you Mr. President."
He also dismissed the conspiracy theory with a few jokes, but insisted he was sure he had killed bin Laden: "I know who I killed, homie. Every time," he tweeted.
You can read other reactions to Trump's retweet below. The White House has yet to release a statement on the matter.
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