Arizona GOP’s ‘Four Minions of the Q-pocaplyse’ add legitimacy (HA!) to conspiracy cult

Those of us who have lived in Arizona for a long time, and have managed to maintain a modest grip on reality, understand that our beloved desert paradise is the grassy knoll of American politics.

Now, thanks in part to four Republican lawmakers and their friendly relationship to the QAnon conspiracy cult, our metaphorical link to Dealey Plaza has morphed, sadly, into a real one.

The QAnon movement, as you most likely know, is internet-driven conspiracy craziness on steroids.

They’re the folks who first rallied around the belief that Hillary Clinton and others ran a sex-trafficking ring out of a pizza parlor in Washington, D.C., which involved children, cannibalism and more, with the idea of controlling the entire world, and with only the QAnon messiah – Donald Trump – to stop it.

At the grassy knoll, waiting for JFK Jr.

Here’s the thing.

It gets worse.

Just a few days ago, in fact, hundreds of QAnon believers gathered in Dallas, at the spot where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, under the belief that Kennedy’s son, John Jr., who died in a plane crash in 1999, would show up and somehow magically become Trump’s vice president.

John-John, as JFK Jr. was known, did not show.

But several among the QAnon crowd claim to have spotted other dead celebrities. Robin Williams, for example. Even Michael Jackson.

Arizona GOP leaders met with QAnon in Vegas

What does that have to do with Arizona?

Well, late last month four Republican members of the Arizona Legislature, actual elected individuals, attended a QAnon gathering in Las Vegas.

Their participation in the crackpot convention in Sin City was documented nicely in an article in The Arizona Mirror.

Reps. Mark Finchem and Leo Biasiucci were there. As were Sen. Wendy Rogers and Sonny Borrelli.

They met with fellow conventioneers and political wannabes while all of the most popular and – of course – unproven conspiracies were trotted out. Having actual lawmakers as part of the convention’s programming gave the event an air of – HA! – credibility.

Look for The King in our governor’s race

At least to those who don’t know these particular Arizona lawmakers.

They aren’t alone among QAnon sympathizers or believers in the state’s Republican Party, either. They might even be part of the GOP majority.

We’ll know that for sure if the most QAnon-like of the Republican gubernatorial candidates, Kari Lake, wins the GOP primary.

Of course, I wouldn’t expect her to come out afterwards and publicly announce that she  had been endorsed by JFK Jr.

He doesn’t seem like her type.

She’d probably go more for Elvis.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from The Arizona Republic can be found here ***