WATCH: In Laura Loomer’s First Stunt, She Made An ISIS Club

Image by Youtube
Laura Loomer had a theory to test out about her college: The school would let her start a club in support of ISIS, so concerned were they with letting everyone have a “voice.”
In spring of 2015 she wore a hidden camera to the Center for Student Involvement and touted her pet project: “Sympathetic Students In Support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.”
Administrators at Barry University were wary at first, but they soon signed off on the club, with one condition: It had to be called “Students in Support of the Middle East.” The goal — send aid to the families of ISIS fighters — remained the same.
One of the things Loomer said her putative pro-ISIS student group would do would be to send flashlights in bulk to Islamic State fighters, since “people are, like, attacking them and they can’t see at night, and because, like, they are so poor, like, they don’t have night vision and stuff.”
Perhaps they could get flashlights in bulk from CostCo, the administrator replied.
The resulting video was released by Project Veritas, a “guerrilla journalism” outlet that routinely uses hidden cameras.
According to Loomer, the video showed that that political correctness has led universities to support boycotts, divestments and sanctions groups, which she calls “borderline jihadi,” while undercutting pro-Israel groups.
Loomer, who was suspended from Barry after the video was released, defended the practice of using hidden cameras.
“People are more willing to say things when they don’t know they’re being recorded,” she said.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.
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