Unsubstantiated 'chemtrail' conspiracy theories lead to legislation proposed in US statehouses

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Unsubstantiated ‘chemtrail’ conspiracy theories lead to legislation proposed in US statehouses

By SARA CLINE and MELISSA GOLDIN
Updated 11:44 PM EDT, June 8, 2025

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As Louisiana Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates stood before her colleagues in the state’s Legislature she warned that the bill she was presenting might “seem strange” or even crazy.

Some lawmakers laughed with disbelief and others listened intently, as Coates described situations that are often noted in discussions of “chemtrails” — a decades-old conspiracy theory that posits the white lines left behind by aircraft in the sky are releasing chemicals for any number of reasons, some of them nefarious. As she urged lawmakers to ban the unsubstantiated practice, she told skeptics to “start looking up” at the sky.

“I’m really worried about what is going on above us and what is happening, and we as Louisiana citizens did not give anyone the right to do this above us,” the Republican said.

Louisiana is the latest state taking inspiration from a wide-ranging conspiratorial narrative, mixing it with facts, to create legislation. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a similar measure into law last year and one in Florida has passed both the House and the Senate. More than a dozen other states, from New York to Arizona, have introduced their own legislation.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/chemtrail-louisiana-ban-conspiracy-e7562efe0251588978153cef30034e63