Who is Laura Loomer and why is she accompanying Trump?

The recent appearance of hard-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer with Donald Trump during his campaign events has led to concerns, even among some Republicans, about the controversial former congressional candidate's potential influence on him.

Ms. Loomer is widely recognized for her anti-Muslim remarks and for promoting conspiracy theories, such as the claim that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated by the US government.

She accompanied Trump at an event on Wednesday that marked the anniversary of the attacks, sparking criticism and anger from some US media outlets.

Additionally, on Tuesday, the 31-year-old was aboard Trump’s plane as they traveled to Philadelphia for the presidential debate held in the city.

One of the most notable moments of the debate occurred when Trump echoed an unfounded claim that illegal immigrants from Haiti had been consuming pets in a small town in Ohio.

"They are eating the pets of the people that live there," he stated.

Local authorities later informed BBC Verify that there were “no credible reports" supporting this claim.

Trump said he was repeating something he had seen on television, but the baseless claim had been shared by Ms. Loomer just a day prior to the debate. On Monday, the fringe commentator and social media influencer had posted the false claim to her 1.2 million followers on X.

Although it’s unclear how much access Ms. Loomer has to Trump, and his running mate JD Vance has also echoed this baseless theory, her post and presence in Philadelphia have led some Republicans to hold her responsible for Trump's false statement during the debate.

A source close to the Trump campaign told US news outlet Semafor they were "100%" worried about Ms. Loomer’s closeness to Trump.

“Regardless of any guardrails the Trump campaign has put on her, I don’t think it’s working,” the source said.

However, another source informed the outlet that Ms. Loomer did not interfere with debate preparations and described her as a "positive person to be around."