Philip Schneider (conspiracy theorist)

Philip Schneider (April 23, 1947 - January 17, 1996) was a promoter of conspiracy theories. He was known for his unsubstantiated claims about the Dulce Base conspiracy theory, an earlier story of aliens fighting humans in an underground base that had previously been put forward by John Lear, Rick Doty, and Bob Lazar in the 1980s.

After his death, Schneider's former wife revealed he had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Skeptics and UFO believers have both argued Schneider's conspiracy views were delusions based on the Dulce Base claims of his associate John Lear.

Early life

Philip Schneider was born in 1947 to mother Sally and father Oscar Schneider, a Navy doctor who had been involved in the 1945 Bikini atoll atomic test. In 1967, he served as an usher in his brother's wedding.

Schneider claimed to be a professional engineer and geologist, but author Greg Valdez could find no evidence to substantiate these claims.

Promotion of conspiracy theories

In 1995, citing a terminal illness, Schneider gave a series of lectures in which he promoted a number of popular conspiracy theories that had originated with John Lear including an Alien-Human Treaty, Dulce Base, and the Dulce War -- a supposed battle between Aliens and Humans in the secret underground base. Schneider also promoted theories of the Philadelphia Experiment and the New World Order and he put forward the unsubstantiated claim that a nuclear weapon was used in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Author Greg Valdez argues Schneider was directly influenced by Lear.