Notorious US conspiracy theorist and radio talk show host Alex Jones has claimed on social media platform X that the recent devastating fire at Bethany English Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in Port Talbot was “set on fire by 2 Pakistani invaders”.
The post, which has been seen by over 1.7million people and shared 4,500 times has been described as “completely false” by South Wales Police, who replied to Jones’ post with their own message saying “two teenagers, both from Neath Port Talbot, have been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with this incident.”
The misinformation is the latest in a series of controversial statements by Jones, who was ordered to pay $1.32 billion to bereaved families of Sandy Hook school in the USA after being found guilty of spreading lies about the mass shooting that took place there in 2012.
Police arrested two boys aged 14 and 15 in connection with the chapel fire, which at its height saw six fire appliances including a specialist turntable ladder appliance tackling the blaze.
The fire came just days after a large empty school building near Penlan was also “deliberately” set on fire.
Neath Port Talbot Council subsequently sought to reassure residents on the condition of the fire ravaged chapel, saying that it was “not in immediate danger of collapse”
