Clarke Gayford jailed for drug trafficking?
Mark Honeychurch (March 14, 2022)
Over the last few months or so, while I've been perusing the crazier corners of the internet, I've seen occasional mentions of a really interesting conspiracy theory - in Facebook feeds of COVID deniers, screenshots from private conspiracy Telegram groups, and videos from various protests and marches. The rumour that Jacinda Ardern's partner, Clarke Gayford, is secretly either under arrest, released on bail or imprisoned, and that this is for a drug related offence.
Here are some of the comments I've managed to find online with a quick search:
“So I've seen a lot recently chatter about Clarke being on house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor, I did have a close friend confirm that he does have one on (they have a friend who lives next door), now I'm no fan of mainstream media and since they haven't posted anything about it, kinda makes me think that it speaks 1000 words by not speaking on it, or claiming “it's bullshit””
https://www.reddit.com/r/ConservativeKiwi/comments/sxbi6r/clarke_gayford_rumours_or_truth/
_“NEW ZEALAND DICTATOR PM, JACINDA ARDERN'S “fiancé and baby daddy” arrested for Money Laundering and Drug Smuggling.
Sources close to the investigation have confirmed to @GEORGENEWS that CLARKE GAYFORD, the PM's (ex?) fiancé, has been in custody for weeks now, pending trial/sentencing regarding a massive drug bust that took place in New Zealand late last year.
GAYFORD is no stranger to the law in New Zealand, and has made no attempt to hide his use of recreational drugs in the past.
It's also noted that New Zealand went into an impromptu “red light” lockdown just days before the PM and GAYFORD were to be married.
Wedding plans have been cancelled, not postponed as reported by many media outlets locally.”_
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1001284867451797/posts/1019047252342225/
_“Brother in law - a big time National supporter is convinced, and convincing my parents in law that Clark Gaylord under arrest on drugs charges.
This "rumour" is not a conspiracy theory it's 100% true. Have a family friend that works in the prison system, has been able to confirm he's currently released on bail, awaiting trial for sentences related to dealing meth”_
There's even an entire Facebook group, called Where is Clarke Gayford?, that is dedicated to people who are posting messages in news articles spreading the rumours.
To an extent this feels like the same reality-denying mentality that has many Americans believing that Trump is still president, and that he's quietly running the country from behind the scenes. Any sightings of Clarke out and about are a body double, or he's wearing an ankle bracelet, or it's the mainstream media covering up the truth. These kinds of conspiracy theories are often immune to evidence, at least in the minds of people who are untrusting of all our institutions and happy to accuse anyone and everyone of being a part of the cover-up.
Thankfully the NZ Police understand that it's best to nip these things in the bud. They've been asked via an Official Information Act request to confirm that “Mr Gayford is not and has not been the subject of any police inquiry, nor has he been charged in relation to any matter”, and in their response they quoted from a recent Newshub article which said:
"while they don't respond to queries asking if certain people are under investigation "on this occasion we can say that Mr Gayford is not and has not been the subject of any police inquiry, nor has he been charged in relation to any matter""
Sadly this is not the first time rumours have been thrown around about Clarke. Back in 2018 all kinds of icky rumours were spread online, presumably as an attempt to discredit Jacinda as the new PM. The Police back then had a very similar response to the one they've recently released:
"While in general we do not respond to enquiries which seek to confirm if individuals are under police investigation, on this occasion we can say that Mr Gayford is not and has not been the subject of any police inquiry, nor has he been charged in relation to any matter."
So it looks like not only are the current rumours just a re-hashing of an old political smear campaign, but the Police response is also a near carbon copy of their previous response. For most people, this will be enough to satisfy their curiosity, but I assume that our local conspiracy theorists will just take this official denial as further proof that the rumours are true!
