Activist Laura Loomer spreads false claim about Qatar military facility in Idaho
Far-right activist Laura Loomer has accused the Pentagon of granting Qatar a U.S. military base — a claim that officials have dismissed as false.
Her comments followed an announcement by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who on Friday confirmed that Qatar will fund the construction of a training facility at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho. The project, overseen by the U.S. military and built by local contractors, will support Qatar’s training program for F-15 fighter jet pilots, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“We’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatar Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho,” Hegseth said during a meeting with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
Loomer — known for spreading conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim rhetoric — falsely claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that the U.S. was “giving terror financing Muslims from Qatar a military base on U.S. soil.”
In response, Hegseth clarified that Qatar would not control any part of the base. “To be clear, Qatar will not have their own base in the United States — nor anything like a base. We control the existing base, like we do with all partners,” he wrote.
Qatar’s embassy also emphasized that the facility is part of a long-term training and interoperability agreement similar to those the U.S. has with other allies. “Qatar has made an initial 10-year commitment to construct and maintain a dedicated facility within an existing U.S. air base,” embassy spokesperson Ali Al-Ansari said.
Qatar remains a key U.S. security partner, hosting the al-Udeid Air Base — the largest American military installation in the Middle East — and serving as a mediator in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Loomer, who has a history of provocative actions and misinformation campaigns, was banned from Twitter in 2018 for hate speech after handcuffing herself to the company’s headquarters in protest.
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