American conspiracy theorist
Amy Baker Benjamin (born 1965) is an American
lawyer and former
New Zealand -based
academic focusing on
international law . She has attracted media attention for her political views and has been described as a
conspiracy theorist .
[1]
[2]
[3]
Background
Benjamin was born and raised in the
San Francisco ,
California area.
[4] She attended
Princeton University as an undergraduate, graduating in 1988 with a
Bachelor of Arts in history, and earned a
Juris Doctor from
Yale Law School in 1993.
[5]
Career
After graduation, Benjamin clerked for
Stephen Breyer , then a judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit , and worked as an
Assistant United States Attorney for the
United States Department of Justice in the
Southern District of New York .
[4]
[6]
In 2016, Benjamin was hired as a lecturer at the
Auckland University of Technology Law School .
[7] During this time, she published five scholarly articles, with topics discussed including purported United States
regime change efforts in Libya and Syria, the United States' relationship with the
United Nations , and governmental secrecy.
[8]
[9] In one 2017 article, "9/11 As False Flag: Why International Law Must Dare to Care" , published in the
African Journal of International and Comparative Law , Benjamin asserted her belief that the
September 11th attacks were a
false flag event orchestrated by the United States government.
[10] While a lecturer, Benjamin also appeared as a commentator on various news shows in New Zealand, including
The Project and
Newshub .
[10]
[11]
Benjamin made headlines in August 2021 for denouncing
lockdowns due to the
COVID-19 pandemic as a "crime against humanity", being one of the few academics to publicly criticize New Zealand's pandemic policies.
[12] She subsequently created controversy in November 2021 after claiming, in an interview with conspiracy theorist Vinny Eastwood, that the 2019
Christchurch mosque shootings were a false flag.
[13] Kate Hannah of
The Disinformation Project criticized Benjamin's ideas in the
AUT student-run Debate magazine, calling them "racist, sexist and divisive",
[14] though the magazine later retracted the quote, citing no basis for it.
[15] Having resigned from her teaching position in September 2021, Benjamin left Auckland University of Technology effective January 2022.
[16]
Benjamin publicly supported
Donald Trump in the
2020 United States presidential election and has stated that the election was stolen.
[17]
[18]
[19] She was profiled in a 2022
Stuff documentary, Fire and Fury , about
disinformation in New Zealand.
[1]
[2] The original version of the documentary falsely stated that Benjamin had resigned from AUT following her interview with Vinny Eastwood.
[20]
A play written by Benjamin, We, Macbeth , was performed at London's
Theatro Technis in 2014.
[8]
[21]
[22]
Journal articles
Benjamin, Amy Baker (October 1, 1993).
"The Jurisdictional Implications of a Mens Rea Approach to Insanity: Plugging the "Detainment Gap" after Foucha v, Louisiana" . University of Dayton Law Review . 19 (1): 41–82.
Benjamin, Amy Baker (September 25, 2015).
"To Wreck a State: The New International Crime" . New Criminal Law Review . 19 (2): 208–235.
doi :
10.1525/nclr.2016.19.2.208 .
SSRN
2665893 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (July 26, 2017).
"9/11 as False Flag: Why International Law Must Dare to Care" . African Journal of International and Comparative Law . 25 (3): 371–392.
doi :
10.3366/ajicl.2017.0200 .
hdl :
10292/10739 .
SSRN
3009498 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (September 18, 2017).
"The Many Faces of Secrecy" . William & Mary Policy Review . 8 (2): 1–49.
SSRN
3038640 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (May 24, 2018).
"Syria: The Unbearable Lightness of Intervention" . Wisconsin International Law Journal . 35 (3): 515–548.
SSRN
4684631 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (December 20, 2019).
"Globalists and the Corruption of Sources" . Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law . 48 (1): 87–155.
SSRN
3507762 .
References
^
a
b Sowman-Lund, Stewart (August 22, 2022).
"The subjects of Stuff's Fire and Fury are furious" . The Spinoff . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^
a
b Donnell, Hayden (August 18, 2022).
"A conundrum over how to cover the conspiracists" . RNZ . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ Manhire, Toby (December 11, 2023).
"Winston Peters' rabbit hole problem" . The Spinoff . Retrieved January 1, 2024 .
^
a
b
"Abstracts and Biographies" (PDF) . Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand. 2017. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link )
^
"Amy Benjamin – About" . Auckland University of Technology . Archived from
the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ Mora, Jim (April 23, 2017).
"Amy Baker Benjamin: Will the real Trump foreign policy please stand up?" . RNZ . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^
"NEWS FROM AUT LAW SCHOOL SUMMER 2016" (PDF) . AUT . 2016. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link )
^
a
b
"Amy Benjamin – Publications" . Auckland University of Technology . Archived from
the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^
"Systemic secrecy revealed" . AUT . June 11, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^
a
b Farrar, David (June 5, 2017).
"A law lecturer who is a 9/11 truther" . Kiwiblog . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Peacock, Colin (November 6, 2020).
"Trump v Biden turns into Trump v democracy" . RNZ . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Scott, Matthew (August 19, 2021).
" 'Probably a crime against humanity' – AUT law lecturer denounces lockdown" . Newsroom . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Sowman-Lund, Stewart (November 19, 2021).
"AUT academic calls Christchurch attack a 'false flag', resigns" . NZ Herald . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Hu, Justin (November 20, 2021).
"AUT law lecturer attracted thousands of views online spreading conspiratorial claims — expert" . Debate Magazine . Archived from
the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2023 .
^
"November 2021 Revision Statement" . Debate Magazine . November 26, 2021. Archived from
the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2023 .
^ Weir, Elliot (November 19, 2021).
"Departing AUT lecturer makes false Covid, mosque attack claims" . Stuff . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ George, Damian; Lourens, Marine; Franks, Josephine; Rilkoff, Matthew; Tso, Matthew (January 7, 2021).
" 'It breaks my heart': Americans in New Zealand stunned by Capitol building riots" . Stuff . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Satherley, Dan; Turton, Emma (January 8, 2021).
"US Election: NZ-based academic says Donald Trump not to blame for Capitol riots, says NZ should butt out" . Newshub . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Castagna, Mathilde; Keogh, Brittany (November 2, 2020).
"US election: Kiwi-Americans divided along party lines, united in fear" . Stuff . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Longbottom, Toby (director) (August 25, 2022).
Fire and Fury (Documentary). New Zealand: Stuff. Event occurs at 1:03:15.
^
"We, Macbeth, Theatro Technis – Review" . Everything Theatre . January 26, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ Loxton, Howard (January 20, 2014).
"Theatre review: We, Macbeth at Theatro Technis" . British Theatre Guide . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .