Agreed, and it was therefore ridiculous for Chuck to throw out a theory
without knowing
the facts.

No "theory" was thrown out.
Go back and look at the first post in the thread. There's a comment that two
guys had been arrested in Seattle, bound for NY, the day before the blackout.
Followed by a comment that it was probably a coincidence.

By the way, the discussion of theory is one avenue by which to determine and
evaluate facts. Scientists do it all the time.
To state that it is silly to advance a theory without knowing all the facts is
to state that it is always silly to advance a theory.