This is exactly what happened when the German Reichstag building was set ablaze in 1933. Hitler blamed it on a 'crazy' young Dutch Communist and claimed it was part of a 'Communist conspiracy' to seize power in Germany - and everyone believed it. The Nazis used the incident to dissolve civil liberties, ban opposition political parties, and create a dictatorship. However, evidence later showed that the fire was really perpetrated by leaders in the Nazi Party.