The Insanely Racist Conspiracy Theory on Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse

At about 1:40 a.m. EST on Tuesday, a 1,000-foot cargo ship careened past large concrete obstacles ahead of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, colliding with one of its structural pillars and toppling it into the Patapsco River. Mere hours later, conservatives were already hurling their racist conspiracy theories against the wall to see what sticks.

In an early morning broadcast, Fox Business attempted to tie the horrific situation—which was deemed a developing mass casualty event by the Baltimore City Fire Department—to the “wide-open border.” Via a clumsily worded, cross-wired question, Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo connected the catastrophic collapse to President Joe Biden’s immigration policy.

“Let me also get your take on what’s going on in terms of world affairs. The White House has issued a statement on this saying that ‘there’s no indication of nefarious intent in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,’” started Bartiromo. “The ship involved in the collapse of the bridge is 948 feet long, called The Dali, a Singaporean-flag container, but of course you’ve been talking a lot about the potential for wrongdoing or potential for foul play given the wide-open border. That is why you have been so adamant.”

A construction crew had been performing maintenance on the bridge at the time of its collapse. So far, two have been rescued, while a search continues for another six people in the water.

The area around Baltimore, which is just a one-hour drive from D.C., constitutes one of the most heavily trafficked sections of the country. The Key Bridge offered an alternative route along Interstate 95, the East Coast corridor, and was used by approximately 35,000 people a day, according to Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld.

The bridge’s loss—and its subsequent blockade in the river—also shuts off the Port of Baltimore from its shipping route.

But even though the FBI had already determined that the crash was not the result of terrorist activity, other conservatives still joined the digital pile-on, including self-avowed misogynist Andrew Tate and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who baselessly pegged the accident as a “cyber attack.”