Laura Loomer: Far-right activist who met Trump before he fired NSC officials

Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer is in the headlines once again after reports that she was behind the recent firing of top National Security Council officials by President Donald Trump.

Ms Loomer was a presence alongside Trump on the campaign trail, which raised questions from some Republicans about the influence the controversial former congressional candidate may have on him.

She is well-known for her anti-Muslim rhetoric and for spreading conspiracy theories, including that the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job" carried out by the US government.

Reports suggest that Ms Loomer urged Trump to fire specific employees whom she suspected of being insufficiently loyal.

The president denied that the controversial social media influencer played any role "at all" in the firings.

Ms Loomer posted on X that Gen Haugh, the leader of both the US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, and his deputy Wendy Noble, were fired because they "have been disloyal to President Trump".

In a phone call with the BBC, Ms Loomer said it would be "inappropriate" to divulge details of her meeting with Trump on Wednesday.

"It was a confidential meeting," she said. "It's a shame that there are still leakers at the White House who leaked this information."

Ms Loomer's ties to Trump during his campaign led some Republicans to blame her for unfounded claims he made during the presidential debate, including baseless conspiracy theories that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating pets.

An anonymous source close to the Trump campaign told US news outlet Semafor at the time that they were "100%" concerned about Ms Loomer's proximity to Trump.

“Regardless of any guardrails the Trump campaign has put on her, I don’t think it’s working,” the source was quoted as saying.

A number of senior Republican politicians also publicly criticised Ms Loomer during the campaign and cautioned against Trump bringing her into his inner circle.

"Laura Loomer is a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters disgusting garbage intended to divide Republicans," North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Trump has previously called Ms Loomer just "a supporter" and that he was unaware of her comments about 9/11.

“I don’t control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She’s a free spirit," he added.

Born in Arizona in 1993, the self-styled investigative journalist has worked as an activist and commentator for organisations including Project Veritas and Alex Jones's Infowars.

In 2020, she ran - with Trump's support - as a Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives in Florida, but lost to Democrat Lois Frankel.

She tried again two years later, when she unsuccessfully ran to unseat Representative Daniel Webster in a Republican primary in a different Florida district.

Now, she is known for her vocal support of Trump and for promoting a long string of conspiracy theories including claims that former Vice-President Kamala Harris is not black, and that the son of billionaire George Soros was sending cryptic messages calling for Trump's assassination.

These posts led her to be banned from a number of platforms including Facebook, Instagram and even, according to her, Uber and Lyft for making offensive comments about Muslim drivers. She once described herself as a “proud Islamophobe”.

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Ms Loomer frequently attends events in support of Trump and has been seen previously at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago.

Last year, she travelled on his plane to Iowa where she was given a shout-out by him on stage at an event. “You want her on your side," Trump said. The former president has also shared several of her videos on Truth Social.

And last year, the New York Times reported that Trump had expressed an interest in hiring her for his campaign, relenting only after top aides expressed concern that she could damage his electoral efforts.

“Everyone who works for him thinks she’s a liability,” one Trump aide said of Ms Loomer in a report in NBC News in January.

Another outspoken Trump supporter, Marjorie Taylor Greene, took issue with Ms Loomer during Trump's campaign over her comments questioning Trump's rival Harris's race and a post in which she said the White House "will smell like curry" if Harris - who is partly of Indian descent - were to be elected.

Greene said Ms Loomer's comments were "appalling and extremely racist" and did "not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA" - prompting a flurry of furious messages in her direction.