Michael C. Ruppert, a well known 9/11 conspiracy theorist and former LAPD detective, reportedly committed suicide.
Ruppert, a former narcotics investigator who became an investigative journalist, shot and killed himself after his final radio show broadcast, a friend said. Ruppert is famous for claiming the government and Wall Street bankers were essentially behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Daily Mail reported that author Carolyn Baker was the guest on his final radio broadcast on Sunday.
On her Facebook page, Baker wrote that he died.
“Sunday night following Mike’s Lifeboat Hour radio show, he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. This was not a ‘fake’ suicide. It was very well planned by Mike who gave us few clues but elaborate instructions for how to proceed without him,” she wrote.
Baker added: “His wishes were to be cremated, and as of this moment, there are no plans for a memorial service. However, I will be taking his show this coming Sunday night, April 20, and the entire show will be an In Memoriam show for Mike with opportunities for listeners to call in.”
“It was my privilege to have known Mike for 14 years, to have worked with him, to have been mentored by him, and to have supported him in some of his darkest hours, including the more recent ones. I am posting this announcement with the blessing of his partner Jesse Re and his landlord, Jack Martin.
“Thank you Mike for all of the truth you courageously exposed and for the legacy of truth-telling you left us. Goodbye my friend. Your memory will live in hour hearts forever.”
Baker added that she didn’t have any more information.
A number of people offered condolences to Ruppert’s family and left tributes on his Facebook page.
However, a number of people said that the circumstances surrounding his death were suspicious. But some people said that he spoke about suicide in the past.
“He mentioned in lots of places that suicide was coming. But no one really expected it, at least I didn’t. Like I’ve said to others, listen to Sundays show again. It was preparation for others, it was relief for Michael. To talk about the days before and sound so happy and clear minded on Sunday night, to me shows the weight on his shoulders was lifted, peace was coming...” one person wrote on Baker’s page.
The Mail reported that phone numbers connected to his businesses were disconnected. His publishing company, 42 West, and former colleague Max Mogren could not confirm his death.
Mogren said he was saddened by his passing. “He believed what he believed. All of his work was motivated by his love of humanity,” Morgren told the Mail.
Ruppert might be best known for publishing the 2004 book “Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil,” He is also well known for his work in “Collapse,” a documentary from Chris Smith.
