--- title: Conspiracy Theories Surround Justice Antonin Scalia's Death description: Several conspiracy theories are surrounding the demise of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. canonical: https://time.com/4224853/conspiracy-theories-scalia-death/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-15T21:00:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:13:57.553Z article:section: Politics og:title: Justice Antonin Scalia's Death Attracts Conspiracy Theorists og:description: "My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas" og:url: https://time.com/4224853/conspiracy-theories-scalia-death/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5afa03333b2653bf/69887da62dce01fd109e7d06/antonin-scalia-heart-attack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Ginsburg Discuss First Amendment At Forum og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Justice Antonin Scalia's Death Attracts Conspiracy Theorists twitter:description: "My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5afa03333b2653bf/69887da62dce01fd109e7d06/antonin-scalia-heart-attack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Justice Antonin Scalia's Death Attracts Conspiracy Theorists > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 15, 2016 9:00 PM UTC  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia waits for the beginning of the taping of "The Kalb Report" on April 17, 2014 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia waits for the beginning of the taping of "The Kalb Report" on April 17, 2014 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Alex Wong—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 15, 2016 9:00 PM UTC The sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia over the weekend has attracted scores of tributes, questions about its impact on cases before the nation’s highest court, and now, its share of [conspiracy theories](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/15/conspiracy-theories-swirl-around-the-death-of-antonin-scalia/?tid=sm%5Ffb). The 79-year-old jurist [died of natural causes](http://time.com/4224671/antonin-scalia-dead-cause-autopsy/?xid=homepage), a judge has told The Associated Press, and there were no signs of foul play when he was found dead Saturday in his room at a luxury Texas resort ranch. Scalia’s family’s decision to forgo an autopsy, and a justice of the peace pronouncing him dead of natural causes without seeing the bod. That provided enough grist for a former homicide commander for Washington D.C., who has no first-hand knowledge of the case, to speculate about the cause of Scalia’s death. William Ritchie, a former head of criminal investigations for D.C. police, wrote on Facebook that several aspects of how the death was handled didn’t add up,[ according to the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/15/conspiracy-theories-swirl-around-the-death-of-antonin-scalia/?tid=sm%5Ffb). “My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas,” he wrote. “Did the US Marshal check for petechial hemorrhage in his eyes or under his lips that would have suggested suffocation? Did the US Marshal smell his breath for any unusual odor that might suggest poisoning?” Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara, who pronounced Scalia dead, had told WFAA-TV on Sunday that the conservative jurist had been suffering several chronic conditions and underwent an MRI last week. Concerns about a possible conspiracy theory mounted after the ranch’s owner told reporters Scalia was under a pillow when he was found dead. “We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bedclothes were unwrinkled,” John Poindexter, who owns Cibolo Creek Ranch, told the [San Antonio _Express-News_](http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Texas-ranch-owner-recalls-Scalia-s-last-hours-6830372.php). Poindexter also [told the Los Angeles _Times_](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-scalia-ranch-20160214-story.html) he had discovered the late Justice “in perfect repose in his bed as if he was taking a nap. His face wasn’t contorted or anything.” Scalia’s death in an election year has [upended the Republican party](http://time.com/4220762/antonin-scalia-dead-republican-party-senate-congress/) and could change the Supreme Court, which previously swung 5-4 conservative. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argues that Scalia’s successor shouldn’t be picked until a new president is elected, while President Obama said he intends to fill the position “in due time.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4224853/conspiracy-theories-scalia-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4224853/conspiracy-theories-scalia-death/"},"headline":"Justice Antonin Scalia's Death Attracts Conspiracy Theorists","datePublished":"2016-02-15T21:00:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:13:57.553Z","description":"'My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas,' one former law enforcement official speculated","url":"https://time.com/4224853/conspiracy-theories-scalia-death/","keywords":["Supreme Court"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5afa03333b2653bf/69887da62dce01fd109e7d06/antonin-scalia-heart-attack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5afa03333b2653bf/69887da62dce01fd109e7d06/antonin-scalia-heart-attack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Ginsburg Discuss First Amendment At Forum","caption":"Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia waits for the beginning of the taping of \"The Kalb Report\" on April 17, 2014 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/supreme-court/","name":"Supreme Court"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4224853/conspiracy-theories-scalia-death/","name":"Justice Antonin Scalia's Death Attracts Conspiracy Theorists"}}]}] ```