Herschel Walker Pushes Fentanyl Candy Conspiracy Theory Ahead of Halloween

Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker claimed fentanyl is being dressed up to imitate candy by "the people of China and Mexico," during a rally on Monday.

The running back turned Georgia politician said parents should be "very vigilant" on Halloween in response.

Walker was speaking to supporters in Dalton, Whitfield County, when he made the unverified claim.

Speaking on an outdoor stage, with his campaign bus behind, the Trump-endorsed candidate said: "Halloween is right around the corner and now the people of China and Mexico are dressing fentanyl up to look like candy.

"So, I want you to be very vigilant when you're taking your kids on Halloween, because there's a new war in town and that war is China, because China don't like us."

Earlier this month Walker made a similar claim when appearing on Sean Hannity's radio show, stating: "Halloween is right around the corner. Right now, China, who's not our friend, is trying to dress fentanyl up to look like candy. So we gotta be very vigilant about that. That's because Rafael Warnock and Joe Biden."

Walker is hoping to replace Democrat Warnock as Georgia's junior senator for Georgia at next month's midterm elections.

The contest in Georgia is one of a number that will determine who controls the Senate, with the GOP hoping it can wreck President Biden's legislative agenda by seizing both chambers of Congress.

Claims that children are being given contaminated candy when trick-or-treating, otherwise known as "Halloween sadism," have a long history in the U.S.

Writing for Scientific American, Professor Joel Best, who has investigated the phenomena using data going back to 1958, described the claims as "contemporary legends."

The University of Delaware academic concluded: "I can't find any evidence that any child has ever been killed or seriously injured by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating."

Professor Best added that, in contrast with previous trick-or-treating candy allegations, what's changed this time is the theory's endorsement by prominent politicians.

He said: "What seems new about describing rainbow fentanyl as a Halloween danger is the willingness of important political figures and news media outlets to spread the warnings. Most past claims about Halloween sadism lack such prominent spokespeople.

"But in a time when many news outlets seem intent on maintaining their audiences by frightening them, and increased political polarization seems to stall efforts to devise workable social policies, calls for protecting our children from the threats of boogeyman drug dealers return us to the spirit of Halloween: offering up fresh ways to keep people scared."

In August the federal Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] did warn that "colored Fentanyl" is being used to target the extremely dangerous opioid at children, though there is no conclusive evidence that it's being given out for free.

The agency warned: "The Drug Enforcement Administration is advising the public of an alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available across the United States.

"Since August 2022, DEA and our law enforcement partners seized brightly-colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills in 26 states. Dubbed 'rainbow fentanyl' in the media, this trend appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people."

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that in 2021 80,816 people died across the United States as a result of overdoses "involving opioids."

Last week, a video of Walker being trolled by a Comedy Central show went viral online, racking up more than 730,000 views. In the skit, comedian R.J. Fried phones Walker, who attracted controversy after falsely claiming he used to work as a police officer and FBI agent, to report his laptop had been stolen.

A man answers, who Fried said was Walker himself, and promises to "report your thing and all that."

Newsweek has not been able to independently verify that it was Walker who answered the phone.

Herschel Walker has been contacted for comment.