Gray State

In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic, up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film 'Gray State.' Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film’s crowd-funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right. In January 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause célèbre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims.

Directed by Grizzly Man producer Erik Nelson and executive produced by Werner Herzog, A Gray State combs through Crowley’s archive of 13,000 photographs, hundreds of hours of home video, and exhaustive behind-the-scenes footage of his work in progress to reveal what happens when a paranoid view of the government turns inward — blurring the lines of what is real and what people want to believe.

"Chilling...a harrowing portrait." - Jason Bailey, Flavorwire

"A compelling, highly dramatic piece of documentary filmmaking." - Chris Barsanti, The Playlist

"Donald Trump's embrace of Alex Jones and his InfoWars outlet has gone a long way toward legitimizing the alt-right fringe, a space rife with conspiracy theories about the corruptness of the national media and the dictatorial schemes of the federal government. Together, Jones and Trump (and Trump's right-hand buddy, Steve Bannon) have helped stoke the flames of anti-establishment 'fake news' extremism—and as Erik Nelson's A Gray State makes clear, that sort of fanaticism can lead to tragic consequences for all involved." - Nick Schager, The Daily Beast