Trumpworld figures converged at Lynnette “Diamond” Hardaway’s memory ceremony on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the life of the pro-Trump pundit who died suddenly at 51—but the memorial took a dark turn as her sister suggested a nefarious plot behind her death.
Diamond’s sister—half of the “Diamond and Silk” duo—Rochelle “Silk” Richardson addressed the crowd at the Crown Theater in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and appeared to fall back into her old anti-vaxxer ways.
“Instead of asking if Americans are vaxxed or unvaxxed, the real question to ask is: Are Americans being poisoned?” she asked the pro-Trump crowd filled with friends and family.
“In the wild, when they want to depopulate and sterilize a large group of animals, they usually inject one animal, and that one animal infects the rest of the animals,” Silk said, suggesting, without evidence, that the COVID-19 vaccine creates harm. “People are dropping dead around here, and nobody is talking about it! They are dropping dead suddenly and unexpectedly.”
According to fact-checkers and researchers, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause people to die. And despite far-right pundits amplifying the phrase “died suddenly” on social media with videos of people having seizures to support their theory, the claim isn’t supported by science.
Silk also recalled her sister’s final moments: “She said to me, ‘I can’t breathe.’ It was something out of nowhere, and no warning… Each breath was less, and less, and less.”
“What I want to say to everybody is don’t you dare call me a conspiracy theorist. Because I saw it happen. I saw how it happened. I was there when it happened, and it happened suddenly,” she said, urging the crowd to “get some answers as to why people are suddenly falling dead.”
Silk’s comments immediately sparked a wave of outrage from figures on the right, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene taking to Twitter to declare“I demand an IMMEDIATE investigation into Covid vaccines and the dramatic increase of people dying suddenly!”
In the early days of the COVID pandemic, Diamond and Silk floated many fringe conspiracy theories, including the idea that quarantining would result in people getting “sick” and that increased COVID-19 case numbers being shared with the public was an attempt to harm Trump politically.
Silk has repeatedly denied on Twitter that Diamond passed away due to COVID-19. Instead, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has stated publicly that the pro-Trump pundit suddenly collapsed in his kitchen. (Diamond’s cause of death remains unclear, and an autopsy report has not been made public. Reached for comment via phone by The Daily Beast on Saturday evening, Diamond and Silk’s executive director Tressie Ham hung up and did not address questions via text message.)
“Where’s your proof that my sister died from contracting COVID-19? No Proof plus No Truth equates to a Lawsuit,” Silk wrote after Diamond’s death was announced.
Other Trumpworld royalty joined the solemn service to pay their respects to Diamond on Saturday—including the former president himself.
“It’s so hard to understand what could have happened,” he said. “When you got to know her, there was nobody that was kinder, there was absolutely nobody that was more devoted person to the common sense of our country and to making our country great again.”
“Through the tears and the grief, let us celebrate this incredible life,” Trump added.
The local North Carolina paper, The Fayetteville Observer, reported that around 150 people attended the celebration of life event and were given a programming pamphlet with a list of Diamond’s favorite sayings.
“In a blink of an eye… she is now in the—presence of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Trump-loving Pastor Mark Burns declared. “I believe without a shadow of a doubt, Diamond is talking to Jesus, and she is saying, Jesus, ‘Please make sure that Donald J. Trump is the next President of The United States of America.’”
Like many pro-Trump events, the event at times slid off the rails and took the form of a MAGA rally rather than a funeral service.
“She lives on in the hearts and minds of those who love her,” Republican North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said. “The news media right now has paid little to no attention to her passing. We all know what the news media is. It is the most evil devil in America.”
“She was wise, she was strong, and she was beautiful,” Robinson continued.
Each speaker, including Trump, paid tribute to her unwavering support of the former president.
“And another secret about Diamond: She had a boyfriend. Yes, that’s right. And she had a boyfriend, and oh, my God, we would talk about him all of the time,” Ham said. “His name: President Donald J. Trump. Yes, yes, yes. President Donald J. Trump, that was her boyfriend.” Ham added that Diamond’s “side piece” was Mike Lindell.
Silk also used the service to threaten to file a complaint against local police over their handling of her sister’s death, even though she gave few details.
“To the Hoke County Sheriff’s department, you have a rotten apple in the bunch,” Silk said. “While the body is still warm on the kitchen floor, you don’t overstep the next of kin… then try and barge into my home, that I pay the bills for, illegally, with no warrant, to retrieve my sister’s dead body. ”
“You don’t push yourself onto someone then say ‘don’t touch me,’” she continued. Silk—who has long called for “handcuffs” to be removed from police—then pledged to file a “complaint” against the local North Carolina police department “ASAP”—adding, “just because you are dressed in blue doesn’t mean you get to abuse the power you think you have.”
The Hoke County Sheriff’s office did not return The Daily Beast’s request for comment on Saturday evening.