[crocodiletears]

Affluent pedophile cult conspiracy theories have been a staple of fringe right-wing elements, and the militia movement for some time. Especially recently they've been associated with the populist wing of the Republican Party (pizzagate, Alex Jones).

Given those associations, and the surreal nature of the claims, it's hard not to blame a lot of liberal-leaning people for reflexively dismissing them.

But Epstein's recent death, and the facts surrounding his case seem to indicate that many of those theories once readily dismissed as the product of fevered minds may actualy need to be reevaluated, even if they only contain a kernel of the truth individually.