Yes, He Posted It. No, It Isn’t True: Inside the 5G–COVID and “Obamacare trafficking” claims in a Bangor council race

Short answer: Yes, City Council candidate Justin Cartier promoted posts claiming 5G causes COVID‑19 and that Obamacare was created for child trafficking; no, there’s credible evidence for neither. And one of his key “coincidence” arguments about radio technology and the 1918 flu is off by decades.

If that sounds wild for a local race, it gets more so: Cartier confirmed the now‑deleted X account was his, then erased it less than a day after talking to a reporter. We pulled the receipts, checked the science, and traced where these ideas actually come from.

What we verified — and what we couldn’t

• The Bangor Daily News reported on Oct. 6, 2025 that Cartier’s X account promoted claims that 5G causes COVID‑19, that Obamacare was set up for child trafficking, and that “Jews control politics and society.” Cartier confirmed the account was his before he deleted it; the paper published screenshots. This matches the original article you read. Source: Bangor Daily News reporting and screenshots (https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/06/bangor/bangor-government/justin-cartier-bangor-council-joam40zk0w/)
• His X bio read: “Tired of he [sic] uniparty and the woke agendas of the Blackrock Pedo Puppets,” and he reshared a video of a public commenter calling the LGBTQ+ community a “pedophilic degenerate cult.” He told BDN reposts were to “create discussion.” Same source as above.
• Cartier ran as a Republican for Maine House District 23 in 2024 and lost to incumbent Amy Roeder (D). Source: Ballotpedia (https://ballotpedia.org/Justin_Cartier?utm_source=openai)
• He’s now one of nine candidates for three City Council seats. Source: BDN Aug. 28, 2025 field list (https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/08/28/bangor/9-candidates-running-bangor-city-council-fall-2025-joam40zk0w/?utm_source=openai)
• BDN reports he serves on Bangor’s Planning Board. We could not independently verify a member roster on the city site; recent meeting videos name some members but no official list was easily accessible. We attribute this item to BDN. City agendas: (https://www.bangormaine.gov/agendas)

The most important corrections

• Bold correction 1: 5G does not cause COVID‑19. Health agencies and experts have found no link between cell‑phone radiofrequency and COVID. The FDA says there is “no consistent or credible scientific evidence” of health problems from exposures at or below FCC limits. Sources: FDA overview (https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/cell-phones/do-cell-phones-pose-health-hazard?utm_source=openai)
• Bold correction 2: Public exposure to signals from base stations and Wi‑Fi, including in schools, is typically thousands of times below international safety limits, and accumulated evidence does not show harm at those levels. Sources: WHO fact sheet (https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/radiation-and-health/non-ionizing/base-stations-wireless-technologies?utm_source=openai); ICNIRP 2020 guidelines referenced by WHO/Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/no-link-between-mobile-phones-brain-cancer-who-led-study-says-2024-09-03/?utm_source=openai)
• Bold correction 3: The “radio rollout” timeline tied to the 1918 flu is incorrect. FM radio arrived in the 1930s and first broadcast in 1939; commercial AM broadcasting began in 1920; radar became practical in the late 1930s–early 1940s. The dates don’t line up with the 1918–1919 pandemic. Source: Britannica on radio history (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edwin-H-Armstrong?utm_source=openai)
• Bold correction 4: The claim that “Obamacare was set up as a child‑trafficking operation” has no evidence. It mirrors long‑debunked QAnon/Pizzagate narratives. A 2015 Ohio trafficking case exploited refugee‑sponsorship screening within a different federal office (ORR in HHS). It did not involve the Affordable Care Act or show it was “set up” for trafficking. Sources: Snopes (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-obama-administration-children-human-traffickers/?utm_source=openai), QAnon overview (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon?utm_source=openai)

How the story unfolded

It started with a bio line that looked like a dare: “Blackrock Pedo Puppets.” Cartier told the Bangor Daily News he didn’t necessarily agree with everything he reposted — he wanted to “create discussion.” Less than 24 hours after speaking to the paper, the account vanished.

But the claims he floated were not vague “what ifs.” One post pushed the idea that 5G causes COVID‑19. Another suggested Obamacare was designed for child trafficking. The account also amplified a video calling LGBTQ+ people a “pedophilic degenerate cult,” and posts playing on the old conspiracy that Jews secretly run politics and society.

We traced each thread. Here’s what held up and what broke apart.

The 5G–COVID theory: a biological impossibility

Cartier pointed to “interesting coincidences,” arguing that new wireless tech rollouts coincided with outbreaks — even linking the 1918 Spanish flu to radio. The dates don’t match. FM radio didn’t hit the air until 1939; AM broadcasting kicked off commercially in 1920; radar came later still. The timeline undermines the premise.

On the science, the consensus is broad:

• The FDA, WHO, and international safety bodies say exposures at regulated levels — including 5G — have not been shown to cause health problems.
• Public exposures near towers and Wi‑Fi are far below the limits set to protect health.
• Regulators have sanctioned broadcasters for airing COVID‑5G myths; experts call the theory biologically impossible. Sources: FDA (above), WHO/Reuters (above), Ofcom action reported by The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/oct/06/christian-tv-channel-fined-by-ofcom-over-covid-conspiracy-theories?utm_source=openai)

Cartier also hinted that Wi‑Fi/5G might be “a piece of the puzzle” behind special‑education needs in Bangor. There’s no evidence for that. Many factors affect special‑ed enrollments and budgets; WHO says wireless exposures in public settings are not expected to cause adverse effects at typical levels.

“Obamacare as trafficking”: how a rumor swallowed a nuance

We found no credible source linking the Affordable Care Act to trafficking. What does exist: a 2015 case in Ohio where traffickers abused the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s sponsorship vetting to obtain custody of migrant teens. That scandal prompted reforms — but it had nothing to do with the ACA and does not support a claim that Obamacare was “set up” for trafficking. Sources: Snopes (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-obama-administration-children-human-traffickers/?utm_source=openai)

Antisemitic tropes by another name

The BDN screenshots show reposts pushing the idea that Jews control politics and society. That claim is a long‑running antisemitic trope, well documented by researchers and groups that track hate speech. Source: BDN report (https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/06/bangor/bangor-government/justin-cartier-bangor-council-joam40zk0w/)

Who is Justin Cartier outside the posts?

• Cartier ran unsuccessfully for a Maine House seat in 2024. Source: Ballotpedia (https://ballotpedia.org/Justin_Cartier?utm_source=openai)
• He tells voters he wants to lower taxes and redirect savings to mental‑health and recovery services, citing his own past addiction and homelessness. These are policy priorities and opinions, not fact‑claims.
• BDN reports he has four misdemeanor convictions from 2003–2013, which he attributes to alcohol addiction. Source: BDN Oct. 6 profile (same link as above)
• Planning Board service is stated by BDN; we couldn’t independently confirm a current roster on the city’s website. City agendas: (https://www.bangormaine.gov/agendas)

What’s verified vs. what’s speculation

Verified facts

• Cartier confirmed the X account was his before deleting it. BDN has screenshots.
• The account promoted claims about 5G/COVID, Obamacare/trafficking, and “Jewish control.”
• Major health agencies find no credible evidence that cell‑phone RF exposure at regulated levels harms health.
• The 1918/“radio rollout” timeline claim is factually wrong.
• No evidence supports the “Obamacare set up for trafficking” allegation.

Claims needing more evidence or context

• “Wi‑Fi/5G is driving special‑education needs” — no supporting data; contradicted by exposure science.
• “Unelected elites control the world” — broad, undefined, and unfalsifiable without specifics.
• Planning Board membership — reported by BDN; official roster not easily accessible on the city site.

Limits of our review

• We did not scrape deleted posts beyond what BDN published. Our verification relies on BDN’s screenshots and reporting.
• City rosters for boards/commissions were not readily available online during our review; we used agendas and videos as proxies.

Why this matters in a local race

City councils decide on real budgets, real health and safety policies, and what gets taught or banned in real schools. When a candidate deletes an account after promoting false medical claims and bigoted tropes, voters are left to sort intent from impact. Our job is to separate fact from fiction so the debate can focus on policy, not panic.

Bottom line

• Cartier did promote the posts in question, then deleted his X account after confirming it was his. Source: BDN (https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/06/bangor/bangor-government/justin-cartier-bangor-council-joam40zk0w/)
• The scientific claims he boosted are false: 5G does not cause COVID‑19, public wireless exposures are far below safety limits, and his radio/1918 analogy is historically wrong. Sources: FDA (https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/cell-phones/do-cell-phones-pose-health-hazard?utm_source=openai), WHO/Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/no-link-between-mobile-phones-brain-cancer-who-led-study-says-2024-09-03/?utm_source=openai), Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edwin-H-Armstrong?utm_source=openai)
• The “Obamacare set up for trafficking” claim has no evidence and stems from debunked conspiracy narratives. Source: Snopes (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-obama-administration-children-human-traffickers/?utm_source=openai)

If you spot an official Planning Board roster naming Cartier, send it our way. We’ll update this story with a direct link on the city site.