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Lighting, not secret chemical attack, to blame for Trump rallygoers’ eye pain, experts say

Experts dismissed a conspiracy theory that claims a "chemical attack" caused eye pain experienced by Trump supporters earlier this month.

Following a Trump rally in Arizona on Sept. 12, at least 10 attendees, who all sat behind the former president on the right side of the stage, were stricken with numerous eye-related issues, including vision loss and extreme irritation.

Conservatives across social media immediately reacted to the issue by churning out countless conspiracy theories that blamed everything from "chemical warfare" to "microwave weapons."

Infowars' Alex Jones claimed that the incident could be linked to an assassination attempt against Trump.

"We’ve got to ask the question: was this a deliberate chemical attack aimed at Trump?" he questioned. "Were these patriots collateral damage in another attempt to kill the president?"

Others went beyond questioning and outright proclaimed that Trump and his supporters were undoubtedly attacked.

“Chemical warfare attack at Trump rally in Tucson,” one X user said. “There is NOTHING they won’t do to try and stop him.”

Since the rally, numerous individuals who experienced eye pain reported that their symptoms vastly improved.

And while a definitive answer on what happened has not been given, medical experts believe they may have found the answer. Unsurprisingly, the culprit may be something much simpler than a clandestine microwave attack from shadowy globalists.

The Arizona-based media outlet News 4 Tucson, which first broke the news, spoke with Dr. Lou Badeen, a retired ophthalmologist with more than 30 years of experience.

Badeen first argued that a chemical attack was implausible, given that those with eye pain began experiencing it after the rally. A chemical would have caused immediate irritation, Badeen said.

He instead pointed to the lighting on the stage, noting that he treated patients with identical symptoms after exposure to either UV lighting or damaged lights that emitted more radiation than intended.

“It’s like having a bad sunburn you’re in pain for a few days and there’s no permanent damage," he said. “It really fits the picture, it’s a delayed onset, for the first 24 or 48 hours it’s excruciating, then they start to get better.”

As the Daily Dot previously noted, the issue closely resembles a 2023 incident where attendees of a blockchain conference in Hong Kong experienced eye pain after reportedly being exposed to UV lights.

Andy Squire, a public information officer for the City of Tucson Manager's Office, likewise suggested that the lighting could be to blame.

"Another thought put forward was the intense television lighting used and set up by the campaign event organizers," he said. "Event attendees that were seated on the stage were looking directly into lighting, per reports."

The company which provided the lights, however, denied it used anything that could cause harm.

While various other theories have been raised, including the idea that the attendees came into contact with a cleaning agent, no evidence whatsoever suggests any kind of nefarious attack.

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