Candidate denies link to 9/11 conspiracy theorists
Candidate denies link to 9/11 conspiracy theorists
By Kendall Hatch/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Mar 01, 2010 @ 12:17 AM
HOLLISTON — Although as of yesterday he was listed online as a member of a group that questions the validity of government and mainstream media accounts of the 9/11 attacks, state Rep. candidate Jonathan Loya says he is not a conspiracy theorist and joined the group because of his libertarian ideologies.
"There are always theories being thrown around, but I believe that what happened, happened," said the 19-year-old Holliston resident. He clarified he believes the government's account of the 9/11 attacks.
Loya, a UMass-Lowell sophomore studying political science, said he decided to run because he is fed up with "business as usual in Washington" and wants to bring down taxes. He is running as an independent against Democratic incumbent Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, in the Nov. 2 election.
He was a listed member of the "Boston Change for Truth" group on meetup.com, a networking Web site for groups to coordinate meetings and events.
According to the Boston Change for Truth page, the group is "for those concerned with issues from 9/11 truth, ending the Federal Reserve, vaccine resistance, big pharma - medical industrial complex, to banker bailouts and the erosion of civil liberties and the ongoing global wars of occupation."
The page says the group seeks answers to unsolved questions surrounding 9/11 and does not believe the 9-11 Commission report or accounts given by mainstream media outlets about the attacks.
The group writes it is a peaceful organization with no political affiliations that holds ad-hoc meetings to debate issues and plan events.
According to Loya's membership page for "Boston Change for Truth," he "questioned the official conspiracy theory (on 9/11) about a year after everything occurred, but now I am still uncertain of what to believe on things..."
In a phone interview yesterday, Loya said he was not a "radical 9/11 truther (who doesn't believe the government's account), as some of the people in that group are."
Loya said it was "ludicrous" to believe the U.S. government or any other outside force except for al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks.
He said he had questioned traditional accounts of 9/11 on his membership page in order to be accepted into the group by the group's administrator.
He also said he wasn't a believer of theories maintaining there is a group of elite political leaders trying to establish global governance.
"I'm not a believer of any of those things, no," he said.
Loya said during an interview with a Daily News reporter yesterday that he discontinued his membership in the group during their conversation.
"If it wasn't for this, in the very, very near future I would have discontinued my membership," he said, acknowledging that his member page, which is the sixth result in a Google search of his name, may not be a boon to his campaign.
"I'm sure that for some, or a good amount of people, it may not have been the best idea," he said.
Loya, who joined the group almost two weeks ago, after the launch of his campaign, said he was never a follower of the group and never attended any of their events.
"I've never attended one of their events. I've never posted on the Web site," he said. "I don't even follow the group."
Loya said he joined because the group was "pro-liberty," not because they questioned mainstream accounts of 9/11.
"I would like to bring change to Beacon Hill and that is the part I was acknowledging," he said.
Loya is also a member of a Libertarian group on meetup.com, in which he said he is actively involved and regularly sets up an attends meetings.
(Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-626-4429 or khatch@cnc.com)
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