AP/J. Scott Applewhite
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) Reid is wearing special glasses as he recovers from injuries suffered in an exercise accident in December.
Reid's staff has been having some fun with the conspiracy theory.
The minority leader's aides responded by tweeting and retweeting ridiculous theories about what may have really happened.
"The main problem with the mobster theory is that it completely overlooks the critical role played by the Yeti," Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson told Business Insider.
Reid was severely injured last January after his exercise equipment broke, according to his office. Reid broke bones in his face and ribs, and still wears darkened glasses in the aftermath of the mishap.
But radio host Rush Limbaugh doubts Reid is telling the truth.
"I don't believe for a minute that whatever happened to Harry Reid has anything to do with an exercise machine unless somebody repeatedly threw him into it. Harry Reid looks like and is acting like - and now with this announcement, behaving like - somebody who may have been beaten up," he said last week, according to a transcript.
Breitbart News published a lengthy piece on Tuesday further questioning Reid's story. The right-leaning news site looked at the layout of Reid's home and argued it raised questions about his "version of the home exercise accident."
Commenters on the story and elsewhere suggested Reid may have been attacked by the mob. Reid communications adviser Faiz Shakir embraced that theory on Twitter:
After the mob hit, I told @AJentleson and @KristenOrthman that we should say it was slippery tiles. They wanted to do "exercise bands."
- Faiz (@fshakir) March 31, 2015
.@benpershing Stay tuned! "Breitbart News is also investigating the timeline of events for Reid's treatment and will release another" story
- Faiz (@fshakir) March 31, 2015