Michael Collins Piper (born Michael Bernard Piper; July 16, 1960 – May 2015) was an American political writer, conspiracy theorist and talk radio host. Piper was a regular contributor to both The Spotlight and its successor, the American Free Press, newspapers backed by Willis Carto and noted for their antisemitic and White separatist/White nationalist themes. Piper was described on his website as a political "progressive in the La Follette-Wheeler tradition." He wrote books such as The High Priests of War, in which he criticized the neoconservatives in the Bush administration, and Final Judgment, where he claimed that Israel's Mossad, the CIA and organized crime was responsible for the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He had been criticized by many organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Middle East Media Research Institute, which have described Piper as a promoter of antisemitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. Early life Piper claimed his political engagement was inspired by his older brother's experience in the Vietnam War. He once said his late brother "never completely recovered from the physical and psychological impact of the war." Radio show In February 2006, he started a radio show called The Piper Report. Regular guests have included Mark Glenn (critic of Israel), former candidate for Texas state legislature Barbara Samuelson, and Christopher Bollyn (who occasionally filled in for Piper). Piper commented about the war on Lebanon, the Mel Gibson affair (in which he derided Gibson for driving under the influence and for apologizing for his statements) and the battle between U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT, later I-CT) and businessman Ned Lamont on August 8, 2006. Lamont defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary, but lost to him in the general election. Piper defended alternative medicine, animal rights, and the past activities of Liberty Lobby and Willis Carto. He was featured as a guest on James Edwards' radio show, The Political Cesspool, which has also been accused of promoting antisemitism. Kennedy and King assassination theories According to Piper in Final Judgment: The Missing Link in the JFK Assassination Controversy, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion orchestrated the assassination after learning that Kennedy planned to keep Israel from obtaining nuclear weapons. Piper claimed the assassination "was a joint enterprise conducted on the highest levels of the CIA, in collaboration with organized crime — and most specifically, with direct and profound involvement by the Israeli intelligence service,