The Otto Warmbier Conspiracy Theory: Links to the CIA?

It seems like a tragic turn of events led to Otto Warmbier's death, but further investigation reveals otherwise. Here's why:

At first glance, University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier seemed to have been the victim of an unfair trial, as he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for stealing a North Korean (DPRK) propaganda poster. But several conspiracy theories have arisen since then.

One such example is this post, which does a great job of highlighting the inconsistencies behind Otto's conviction. For those uninterested in reading the actual post, some of the main points I found most intriguing were:

• The tour group Otto used to tour North Korea (Young Pioneer Tours) failed to stress to their participants the importance of not stealing items from the DPRK, as well as the dangers it entails
• Otto's roommate in North Korea, Danny Gratton, was the only person from the tour group who actually saw Otto get detained; the rest of the group was nowhere to be found
• Otto and Danny were supposedly separated from their group because the hotel they were staying at "uncharacteristically missed the wake up call," which leads one to wonder: why did the tour group just leave two of their participants behind, especially in a place as oppressive as North Korea?
• His confession during his trial seemed very staged/scripted/acted out

In addition to the points in the above mentioned post, Otto admits to have been provoked to commit the theft partly due to the Friendship United Methodist Church, of which he was NOT a member (confirmed by this article on Otto being of Jewish descent). He stated that he was financially incentivized to do so in return for a used car worth $10,000, which he thought he could use to help his family who was "suffering from very severe financial difficulties." But sources close to Otto (or who live in his area) said the contrary, stating that his family was wealthy.

There were two other parties that Otto claimed to have pressured him into stealing the poster: the U.S. government and the University of Virginia's Z Society.

He said during his confession: "I never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country...I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries."

The Z Society at the University of Virginia is a semi-secret organization Warmbier was trying to become a member of, with links to the CIA. But the post above states that the society had never met with Otto nor had anything to do with his crime. Additionally, Warmbier confessed the following to DPRK officials: "In order to prove my braveness to the Z Society I committed my crime in the DPR Korea with hopes of joining the Z Society." (Full transcript available here)

This leads some to believe that the Friendship United Methodist Church + U.S. government + Z Society combination could be codenames for the Central Intelligence Agency, of which Warmbier could secretly have been a part of. Conspiracy theories state that he was covertly working in North Korea under the guise of an American student on tour.

According to BBC, Otto was an exemplary student. Not only was he both prom and homecoming king, but he was also a star athlete (his football coach Steve Thomas described him as "a gifted player and a natural leader") and salutatorian (the second-highest ranking student of his graduating class); all qualities that make him a good candidate for the CIA.

To further read between the lines, let's take a look at some footage. The following clip shows grainy "evidence" used against Warmbier during his sentencing, which easily could have been staged:

In my opinion, this type of evidence is not conclusive enough to sentence someone; leading one to believe that Warmbier was coerced into giving his ultimate confession. Also, where's the poster that he supposedly stole?

Furthermore, when Otto's roommate in North Korea, Danny Gratton, finally spoke out regarding the incident, he stated that he "got to know Otto really, really well." He added, "I’ve got nothing from my experiences with him that would suggest he would do something like that...At no stage did I ever think he was anything but a very, very polite kid.”*

A young Otto Warmbier before his arrest in North Korea.
Another clip worth examining is an interview between Tucker Carlson and Otto's father, Fred Warmbier. This interview was conducted just days before Otto's death, during the time when he had been returned from North Korea in a coma. While medical experts were still uncertain as to Otto's condition at the time, you'll notice that Fred appears strangely calm as to the outcome of his son's life. Most parents would outwardly exhibit more signs of physical distress and agony. Fred does not.

To take the "undercover CIA agent" conspiracy theory even further, some believe that Otto was brought back in perfect condition and is now living under a Witness Protection Program of some sort, as the only pictorial evidence of his return is this:

But it goes without saying that this is not meant to be an insensitive investigation into the truth, because if he was really dead, my condolences truly go out to him and his family. I'm just saying that things don't really seem to add up to what they appear. What do you think? Let me know by leaving a reply below :)

*Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/06/15/otto-warmbiers-north-korea-roommate-speaks-out/?utm_term=.82f3dacffa90