A QAnon Follower May Win This U.S. Congressional Seat
TOPLINE
A follower of the online right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory appears to have a straightforward path to winning a U.S. Congressional seat from a district in Georgia, setting the stage for what could be the first open supporter of the “deep state” conspiracy theory taking a seat in the U.S. legislature.
SALEM, OREGON, USA – MAY 2: The Q-Anon conspiracy theorists hold signs during the protest at the … [+]
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
KEY FACTS
With 90% of the vote reporting Wednesday, Republican QAnon follower Marjorie Greene seems to have finished in first place in the Republican primary for Georgia 14th Congressional District by a wide margin.
With almost 41% of the vote, Greene had more than double the tally of her likely runoff opponent, John Cowan, who had just under 20%.
The northwestern Georgia district is overwhelmingly Republican, meaning whoever wins the Republican runoff will almost certainly win the House seat; President Donald Trump carried the district with 75% of the vote in 2016.
On several occasions, Greene has expressed support for QAnon—a supposedly anonymous person or group of people that claim to leak information about a “deep state” plot against Trump and his supporters.
Greene has posted support for QAnon on her official campaign Facebook page, called Q a “patriot” in a video and has tweeted QAnon-related phrases like “Trust the plan” and “#GreatAwakening.”
The 14th District seat is being left vacant by Congressman Tom Graves, who is not seeking re-election, and the runoff will be on Aug. 11.
KEY BACKGROUND
QAnon first emerged on the message board 4chan in 2017 and quickly gained a foothold among right-wing circles online, especially while Robert Mueller conducted his investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election. The conspiracy theory has also ramped up during the coronavirus pandemic, promoting skepticism at the government response to the pandemic and making claims like saying Dr. Anthony Fauci is a deep state actor.
The conspiracy theory generally cites a New World Order acting against Trump and aiming to erase traditional western values. That New World Order is backed by a global cabal of child sex traffickers, QAnon clims, made up of liberal Hollywood actors and Democratic Party figures like Hillary Clinton and George Soros, among others. An FBI memo written last year warned that the agency considered QAnon and its followers “conspiracy theory-driven domestic terrorists.”
CRITICAL QUOTE
“Antifa terrorists have declared war on America,” Greene said in a campaign ad before cocking an AR-15 rifle. “Rioting, looting and burning our cities, George Soros, Hollywood elites and Joe Biden’s staff are funding Antifa.”
Greene’s slogan is “Save America, Stop Socialism!”
TANGENT
Though Trump has not publicly endorsed QAnon, he has done little to denounce it or question the credibility of the conspiracy theories. On several occasions, he has retweeted posts from open QAnon followers.
FURTHER READING
The Prophecies of Q (The Atlantic)
Marjorie Greene, John Cowan likely headed for runoff in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District (Calhoun Times)
Trump spent his holidays retweeting QAnon and Pizzagate accounts (Vox)
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Forbes can be found here ***
