Group Probes 9/11 Conspiracies At Film Festival

Group probes 9/11 conspiracies at film festival

http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/...epublisher.com

Annie Mackin
Issue date: 2/12/07 Section: News

The Boston Sons of Liberty - six local men ranging in age from 20 to 27 - staged a film festival this weekend in hopes of taking on the U.S. government for its portrayal of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Though they were all convinced in different ways, member Evan Rooney said the men, who paid for the festival out of their own pockets, believe there is more to the attacks than the government admits.

In hopes of convincing the public as well, they showed 14 little-publicized alternative media films analyzing suspicious aspects of the attacks this past weekend.

The group showed films on topics ranging from interviews with first responders to testimonies from physics professors about the nature of the towers' collapse.

Other alleged government schemes were also examined: The group showed movies examining electronic voting machines, the alleged unconstitutionality of the Federal Reserve and the lackluster federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

"A lot of people walked into it thinking, 'Oh, crazy conspiracies,'" he said. "But the facts are so on-point it's undeniable."

The festival explored unpopular ideas and propagates what many would label idle conspiracy theories, but Rooney said the group has not been met with opposition, so far.

Rooney said people are often wary of scrutinizing the events covered because they are met with skepticism and criticism.

"It's frowned upon," he said. "That's why it's not really talked about."

He said the group tried to avoid films whose credibility has been questioned, as well as those deemed too long or boring for everyday moviegoers.

"We tried to pick movies people could sit through," he said.

Last Sunday night, with only a few hours left in the festival, Rooney said the event was a success. Among the films shown, Rooney said Freedom for Fascism, a film that alleges the income tax unconstitutional, drew a standing-room only audience.

Rooney said his group worked in conjunction with Boston 9/11 Truth, a local group he called the "older and broader crowd."

"The films go over footage that was suppressed by mainstream media," said Michael Alexander, of Boston 9/11 Truth. "They show footage of tower seven [a tower that his and other groups allege was demolished purposefully] collapsing."

He cited the reasoning -- a popular argument on the websites of several groups with similar agendas -- that the steel used in the buildings could not physically have collapsed under only the heat from a jet fuel fire.

Andrea Runyan, also of Boston 9/11 Truth, said their goal is to make people look closer at accounts of any events they are presented with.

"We really want to help people think differently," she said.

Boston 9/11 Truth also recently dumped copies of the 9/11 Commission's report on the attacks into Boston Harbor the same day as the original Boston Tea Party in protest of the report.