Fact Checking “Nobody Died At Sandy Hook”, Chapter Three

“Nobody Died At Sandy Hook”
Chapter Three
By: James Fetzer

This chapter revisits Wolfgang Halbig’s cringe-worthy presentation to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Committee at his first FOIA hearing. CW Wade of Sandy Hook Facts summed the whole fiasco up thusly:

Wolfgang Halbig’s spent about $20,000 raised through his charity, Sandy Hook Justice, for two days worth of hearings. He was awarded no documents and the majority of his complaints where dismissed in their entirety.  It should also be noted that the documents Halbig obtained at a cost of  about $20,000, Sandy Hook Facts obtained for under $100.

Ouch!

“Among our most important discoveries has been the FEMA manual for the Sandy Hook event (Appendix A), which specifies that a rehearsal will be conducted on December 13, 2012, with the event going ‘LIVE’ on the 14th, which explains why Wolf has been unable to obtain information about the Port-A-Potties, which on its face seems very obscure, but where releasing the documents he has requested would reveal that they were delivered on the 13th, which blows the cover for the whole event.” pgs. 39-40

The so-called “FEMA manual” is an obvious, embarrassingly amateurish forgery, as thoroughly exposed here and here.

For those genuinely curious about the timing of the portable toilet deliveries, they only need to look at the police dashcam videos from that morning—there, you can clearly see them being set up in real time:

Note the time and date on the dashcam video.

Furthermore, if the toilets had actually been delivered the day before—as claimed by Halbig and his crew—they would be visible in this early aerial photo of the school’s parking lot:

No portable toilets in sight here. But sure enough, they appear in aerial photos taken later that same day:

This proves that the toilets were not delivered prior to the shooting. All Halbig had to do to figure this out was look at a couple of photos and use some basic reasoning.

“One of Wolf’s successes has been to gain access to dozens and dozens of photographs taken of the school the day after the alleged shooting.” pg. 40

Yes, Halbig “gained access” to the photos by simply downloading the crime scene images, which were publicly accessible on a dedicated website as part of the state’s final report released in December 2013—years before his dismal FOIA hearing performance. Quite the “achievement,” especially since he couldn’t even be bothered to download the accompanying videos, choosing instead to wait for someone else to upload them to YouTube. Only then did he—or more likely, one of his lackeys—grab some screenshots.

There are a lot of photos in this section, all of which are included in the final report. I won’t waste time going over each one, as I’m confident that most reasonable adults can see that they depict an old, modest public elementary school that, while clearly past its heyday, was fully operational and posed no risk whatsoever to its students. Naturally, if the school looked too new or pristine, deniers would raise suspicions, claiming it was built solely for this purpose. On the other hand, if it’s too cluttered or outdated, then—somehow—that’s evidence of staging, much like the contradictory claims about the Lanza home. The place was suspiciously clean? Must be staged. Too cluttered? Still staged.

But let’s not miss out on a few of Halbig’s most ridiculous and uninformed commentary gems. Here are some of his captions—you really can’t make this stuff up:

Rusted hinges on an exterior emergency exit door? Well, case closed, everyone—clearly no learning could possibly take place in a building with rusted hinges.

BENT BLINDS? Shut it down, folks!

Here’s what’s funny about this one: a company I used to do some work for had moved into a brand-new, multi-million dollar office. They did a complete renovation, right down to the studs, and it looked fantastic. But before a single employee had even started working, the blinds in the kitchen were already bent.

Because if Sandy Hook were open and functional, I suppose they’d have nothing better to do than refinish the kinda rusty edge of the giant metal box sitting behind the school, where children aren’t even allowed, right? Yeah, that’s time and money well spent—something public schools definitely have in abundance.

To answer Halbig’s question: because, as per usual, you’re wrong. No one broke any windows to escape. It may sound unbelievable, but some windows can be opened these days. Incredible, right? What a time to be alive!

Here’s what actually happened. Emphasis mine:

In said statement [redacted] related that at the time of the shooting, she was in a meeting with two other teachers, who she identified as [redacted]. [redacted] related that she heard gun fire and smelled what she believed was gun powder. That the gun fire appeared to [redacted] to last “forever” and she as well heard the voices of unknown persons “screaming and crying”. [redacted] opened a window in the room she was in, climbed through it and ran from the school.

Source: Book 5, 00006441.pdf

Is this guy for real? He had months to prep for his big FOIA hearing, and he couldn’t even figure out that those are composting bins? The one on the far right looks suspiciously like a Good Ideas 7 cubic foot Compost Wizard Jr. — which might have been obvious if he’d noticed, oh, the surrounding gardening equipment? Or maybe the fact that the school’s composting program was literally mentioned in this article from July 20, 2012:

There is a schedule put in place for different students and families to come to the school throughout the week to water and weed the garden.

Weeds taken from the garden are put in a compost heap, which is part of a third grade project.

In fact, Sandy Hook had been planning a composting project since 2010, as discussed in this article from The Newtown Bee:

Next year a composting project may also be added, similar to Hawley’s program, but both Ms Hammond and Ms Taylor said parent volunteers would be needed.

And yet, despite openly admitting he has no clue what he’s looking at, Halbig just knows—deep down in his not-insignificant gut—that those compost bins “look unsafe.” What exactly are you worried about happening, Wolfgang? Are we supposed to believe a child left unsupervised in the school’s courtyard will somehow tumble into a 22-inch-deep compost bin and, against all odds, screw the lid on from the inside?

This one—unsurprisingly—is deceptive, and almost certainly on purpose. At first glance, when you peer into classroom #6 from this door, at this angle, it might look a bit cramped. And naturally, they’ve thoughtfully placed a text box over the open, “uncluttered” area for maximum effect. But here’s a panoramic shot of the room from the same set of crime scene photos, giving you a full view of what it actually looks like on the inside:

As you can see, there’s ample clean, open space throughout the room. It’s anything but cluttered.

Why would anyone need to open it? It’s clearly not even plugged in.

Yes, you read that right. Wolfgang Halbig actually cited “strangely painted or smeared cabinets” as evidence that Sandy Hook Elementary School was non-operational on December 14, 2012. This is the high-level “investigation” people financed, folks!

For starters, anyone who’s ever used one of these paper towel dispensers knows that the amount sticking out tells you almost nothing about how many towels are actually left inside—especially with touchless models. I can’t even count how many times I’ve ended up awkwardly reaching in, only to find the dispenser completely full.

Secondly, this photo shows the bathroom door in Room #2, which, per the school’s floor plan, is labeled as “possible day care,” though the placard outside reads “PROBE.” So it’s unclear if this room was even in regular use at the time. In fact, one of the few other images of Room #2 included in the crime scene photos (page 679 of Walkley’s photos) shows it to be almost entirely empty.

While Halbig eagerly highlights the possible lack of paper towels and a “dirty wall” (because, apparently, an elementary school should be spotless), he conveniently overlooks several clear indicators that people actually used this space. Right there, we see a can of air freshener, a bottle of soap, hand lotion, toys to the left, and even a thermostat showing 70°F in December—proof that the building’s heating system was on. Surely, if the place had been abandoned for five years, no one would bother to keep it so comfortably warm.

And let’s not forget: plenty of other paper towel dispensers throughout the school do indeed have paper towels clearly visible. Funny how those didn’t make his list of “evidence”:

That last photo even shows used towels in the trash! Apparently, whoever “staged” the school thought of everything… except cleaning up enough to fool ol’ Wolfgang Halbig, of course. But hey, if anyone’s really desperate for paper towels, I think I may know just where to find some:

This looks promising! Let’s take a peek inside:

Jackpot!

Here we go again—another instance of Halbig seeing an object he doesn’t recognize and immediately deciding it’s suspicious:

The real mystery here is how Halbig, a self-professed expert in school safety and security—who has leveraged those claims to achieve a level of celebrity within the world of Sandy Hook deniers—failed to recognize a simple motion detector: a DS794Z by Detection Systems, Inc., to be specific:

As stated in the caption, this photo was taken from page 751 of Walkley’s crime scene photos. However, what Halbig intentionally omitted is that the 2012–2013 evacuation plans can be found hanging by the doors to rooms 10 (Soto) and 8 (D’Amato) on pages 747 and 749 of the very same document:

While the year on room 8’s plan is indeed harder to make out than the one on room 10, it’s clear it does not say 2011–2012. The scene report itself confirms that these are the evacuation plans for the 2012–2013 school year, dated August 8, 2012—roughly four months before the shooting. This confirmation can be found in document 00118939.pdf, part of CFS1200704597:

As for the supposedly “outdated” (but still entirely accurate) evacuation plan, or Exhibit #82, it’s not even hanging outside a classroom. It’s actually outside conference room 9:

Additionally, evacuation plans from 2009 and 2010 were found elsewhere in the building. Why would a school alleged to have permanently closed in 2008 contain evacuation plans for each year from 2009 to 2013?

Once again, this is room #2, labeled as “possible day care” on the floor plan and marked “PROBE” on the hall placard (though it appears to have been unused at the time of the shooting). If this space were ever utilized for day care, you obviously wouldn’t want very young children to be able to lock themselves in the bathroom. This is why, in some day care facilities and preschools, the bathrooms don’t even have doors. And this is the same guy who was worried children might fall into composting bins.

I’m not exactly sure what the presence of a “potty chair” in an elementary school is supposed to prove, but yes, it’s a triangular, three-legged stool that’s roughly the height of an overturned two-liter bottle and has a teardrop-shaped hole in the middle. Surely you’ve seen them—they’re incredibly popular with new parents.

As someone with extensive IT experience, this one cracks me up. This is one of the school’s network racks. There’s another one by the front entrance in room 11A-5, and this is pretty much the standard setup (seriously, click here if you need a comparison). Zero percent chance kids were ever allowed in this room, so honestly—who cares about “dangling” cables?

According to Halbig, this is “clutter.” Apparently, he expects buildings housing hundreds of kids to be spotless at all times. To me, though, this just looks like a well-organized music room with neatly stored instruments.

“The discussion dealt with the consent agenda regarding the Super Bowl permission by Dawn Hochsprung (“the hoax was sprung in the dawn”), documents for which Wolf had requested.” pg. 41

Terrible, tasteless wordplay aside, yes—you’re reading that correctly: Wolfgang Halbig actually brought up the utterly batshit “Super Bowl” conspiracy theory during his FOIA hearing. And how did that go? I’ll let SandyHookFacts.com explain:

Records Sought:  Halbig asks for the consent agenda for Jan. 23, 2013 and supporting documents.

Facts:  Newtown provided these documents to Halbig.

Conspiracy Theorist Angle:  Many hoaxer conspiracy theorist believe the children who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting are magically alive, aged 5-6 years, and sang at the Super Bowl in 2013.  These delusional people have published numerous videos and blog posts making such claims.

Halbig has invented a premise that the Consent Agenda for the Jan. 23, 2013 must have had information on sending the Sandy Hook Elementary School Choir to Super Bowl.

Therefore, reasons Halbig, since documents are not present, he did not receive the document.

Commentary:  SandyHookFacts believes that if the general population of Sandy Hook Hoax conspiracy theorists get the names of the chorus, the children and their families will be relentlessly stalked and harassed; much like several others associated, even remotely, to that tragedy. Therefore, protecting these minors from Sandy Hook Hoax conspiracy theorists is essential.

In terms of the FOI request.  Halbig asked for a specific documents. Halbig received that documents.  Halbig’s irrational belief carries no weight outside of the Hoaxer world and certainly carries zero weight in the legal realm.

In this instance, Newtown provided Halbig with his exact request; the consent agenda and attachments. Halbig was unable to grasp the concept that attachments might have a different date than the consent agenda. The commission even tried to explain it to him. These concepts are apparently beyond Halbig’s understanding.

Again, hoaxer attorney L. Kay Wilson offered zero evidence that Halbig did not receive the complete document.

“When asked when the new security system was installed, he stated it was last updated in 2007! This was new information to all researchers and when Wolf was asked why he thought there was a new system, Wolf said every news outlet in America reported that the school had a new system and that the school principal, Mrs. Hochsprung, had sent out letters to parents describing the new security upgrades.” pg. 42

I cover the security system in Chapter Five. In short, its history at Sandy Hook can be traced back to 2006, according to Newtown’s Building & Site Improvements of the Superintendent of Schools Annual Report for fiscal year 2007. Dawn Hochsprung’s letter to parents—which was actually adapted from Hawley School’s letter about their own strikeplate security system—had been available on Sandy Hook’s website since at least November 2007.

As for the claim that “every news outlet in America reported that the school had a new system,” it’s pure fantasy. If that were true, you’d think the authors would have at least one example from one of the nation’s countless news outlets. Predictably, they don’t.

“Governor Malloy blundered here, no doubt because he did not want to admit that the person who had warned him ‘something like this might happen’ appears to have been Attorney General Eric Holder, who visited with the governor on November 27, 2012, which was only a few weeks before the event at Sandy Hook would go down. Yet the governor made no effort to warn Connecticut school districts to enhance their security due to an imminent threat. I surmise he was in fact told they were going to take an abandoned school and conduct a drill and present it as real to promote the administration’s anti-gun agenda.” pg. 43

So let me get this straight… According to this book, Sandy Hook Elementary School supposedly shut down in 2008 due to an unreported asbestos issue. And this closure was so quiet—so covert, if you will—that no local media outlets ever covered it, and instead just kept right on reporting on the school as if it were still open and functioning normally.

Fast forward to November 27, 2012. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visits Connecticut to launch “Project Longevity,” an initiative aimed at reducing gang violence in the major urban centers of New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford (not Newtown, notably). During this visit—at an event with a full press presence but somehow no record of this moment—Holder allegedly pulls Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman aside to share that there “may” be a mass casualty drill happening somewhere in the state within the next few weeks. And naturally, what they need for this drill is an abandoned school, which would need to be convincingly staged to appear operational.

This, of course, would be in spite of FEMA having already released the “manual” for this supposed drill to the public on October 8. Not only does Governor Malloy somehow miraculously prepare the supposedly long-abandoned Sandy Hook in just a couple of weeks, but he even hints at this very secretive conversation with Holder during a press conference, while still maintaining the tragic event was real, calling it “a tragedy of unspeakable terms.”

Is this really what we’re expected to believe?

Next: Chapter Four: “Shannon Hicks Denies Staging Her ‘Iconic’ Photograph”