The performer and his film crew left town in a hurry that night, their van peeling out of the Salem Civic Center's parking lot, leaving an angry crowd of rodeo fans behind.

Nearly a year later, people are still wondering: Who was that man who nearly turned a rodeo into a riot?

The impostor stepped into the spotlight to sing the national anthem, surprised the rodeo promoter with some anti-American comments, then infuriated the crowd with a butchered version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Suspect No. 1 is Ali G. Also known as Sacha Baron Cohen, the British comedian has a penchant for pranks. Many people are convinced he suckered the Salem rodeo in search of material for "Da Ali G Show," which airs on HBO.

Ali G's publicist still refuses to confirm that. But neither would Matthew Labov deny another rumor, which has it that Cohen was in Salem to film a portion of "Borat," a movie that stars an Ali G character as a television journalist from Kazakhstan.

"I will say that there will be a Borat film at some point next year and [it] will be released by a major studio," Labov recently e-mailed from Los Angeles.

So does that mean we'll see Salem in the movies?

"I would say it's premature to confirm as the film needs to be edited," Labov replied.

Another piece of circumstantial evidence in support of the Borat-does-Salem theory comes from the Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com describes the movie's plot as a Kazakhstani TV talking head who "makes waves in the United States for his controversial reports."

And then there's this line that appears elsewhere on the Web site, as part of director Todd Phillips' biography: "He began directing the movie Borat (2005) but withdrew soon after the team encountered some trouble in Virginia."

Here's what happened:

On the night of Jan. 7, about 4,000 spectators at the Salem rodeo were told that a Kazakhstani immigrant touring the United States would be singing the national anthem as a token of his gratitude.

That, at least, was the story the man told Bobby Rowe, who's been bringing his Imperial Rodeo Productions to Salem for years.

"I've been snookered before, but not to that degree," Rowe said.

Once the performer had the microphone in his hands, he told the crowd in broken English that he supported the war in Iraq. It went downhill from there, and fast.

"I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards," witnesses quoted the man as saying. "And may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq."

He then broke into a version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that ended with the words "your home in the grave."

By then, the crowd was madder than a bucking bronco. "There would have been a riot" had the man and his crew not beaten a hasty retreat, said John Saunders, assistant director of the civic center. "They would have been killed."

Once the ruckus was over, Rowe was left to explain how he had been duped by someone posing as a representative of One America, a California company doing a documentary on a traveling immigrant. Rowe said he agreed to let the man sing the national anthem after listening to his CD.

As it turned out, a similar pitch was being made elsewhere. But not everyone swung at it.

In Charleston, W.Va., officials at Kroger were contacted by someone at One America, who told them an immigrant from Belarus would be passing through town the weekend of Jan. 3, company spokeswoman Anne Jenkins said in an e-mail shortly after news broke of the rodeo fiasco.

One America wanted a Kroger executive to give the wide-eyed immigrant a guided tour of a typical American supermarket. And of course, they wanted to film the whole thing.

"We respectfully declined their request at the time, and after seeing the rodeo story, I'm glad that we did," Jenkins wrote.

Those familiar with Ali G's work would have to wonder how favorably -- or, more likely, unfavorably -- the Salem rodeo crowd will be portrayed if the movie theory proves true.

Cohen has shown a knack for getting people who don't know him to agree to interviews or televised appearances that they quickly come to regret.

Among his victims: former CIA official Richard Kerr, who had to admit there was no plan to prevent terrorists from hijacking a train and driving it into the White House; former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, who conceded under questioning that whale feces "have got to be massive;" and Gen. Alexander Haig, who was asked if it was true that "Reagan and Thatcher was doin' it?"

With the rodeo scheduled to return to Salem the weekend of Jan. 7, Rowe isn't taking any chances this time. He's booked a country music performer from Nashville, Tenn., to sing the national anthem.

"I've known the boy for years," Rowe said. "So I know there won't be a screw-up."