Our View: State GOP must repudiate QAnon conspiracy

As in other states, Minnesota has become fertile ground for misinformation and conspiracy theories fueled by political polarization.

Unfortunately, one of the most bizarre, false conspiracy movements is taking hold among Republican candidates in the state. The Star Tribune reports that at least a half-dozen Minnesota Republicans running for legislative seats have promoted the QAnon conspiracy, which spews a wide range of fantastic lies.

QAnon, once a fringe movement, is increasingly being promoted by Republican supporters and now candidates. At a recent rally supporting President Donald Trump during his stop in Makato, signs promoting QAnon were prevalent.

The Star Tribune reports that Elizabeth Bangert, a child-care center owner running for the state Senate in the Mankato-St. Peter area, frequently posts videos on Facebook supporting QAnon, even suggesting that the Wayfair online home furnishings store is involved in child sex-trafficking.

QAnon arose during the 2016 presidential campaign when a conspiracy was concocted linking numerous businesses and high-ranking Democrat officials to child sex trafficking. Included among the victims of the conspiracy was a small family-owned pizza shop in Washington D.C. that alt-right operatives suggested was a meeting place for Democrat leaders involved in Satanic ritual abuse.

The baffling fiction was soundly debunked by numerous agencies and organizations, including law enforcement, but QAnon continued to grow online, with ever-more bizarre falsehoods being spread.

The FBI has warned QAnon could inspire violence and domestic terrorism. QAnon postings often refer to a “Great Awakening” or “The Storm,” in which members of the so-called “Deep State,” including elected officials and journalists, will be imprisoned or executed.

Minnesota Republican legislative candidates are citing QAnon and including links to conspiracy theory sites on their social media.

House GOP candidate Julie Dupré called QAnon “a really great information source.”

Trump recently helped legitimize QAnon supporters saying “I heard that these are people that love our country.”

Fortunately, there are GOP leaders who understand the insidious nature of allowing the growth of such garbage. Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo of Farmington last week described QAnon as a “crackpot conspiracy group that has zero legitimacy.”

He is encouraging his party to rescind the endorsements of any Minnesota Republican candidates that perpetuate the conspiracy theories.

Other GOP leaders need to join Garofalo in disavowing QAnon. Allowing the false conspiracy theories to become part of the fabric of the party will only weaken and marginalize the GOP.

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Mankato Free Press can be found here ***