QAnon follower faces prison for death threat against US Rep who he thought was trans

A QAnon follower who pleaded guilty to threatening a US member of Congress because he believed she was transgender now faces up to five years in prison.

New Mexico man Michael David Fox was charged based on concerning threats he made against a cis-gender Texas Congressperson because he believed that she was transgender, Satanic, and a pedophile.

Fox, who told authorities that he was affiliated with the QAnon movement, called the office of the unidentified member of Congress at 9pm on 18 May and made a threat on her life, claiming to have discovered that she was transgender, according to a criminal complaint.

When confronted by the FBI on 26 May, Fox immediately confirmed that he had made the phone call, but didn’t recall the specific details of what he had said.

However, after hearing back a recording of the call, Fox admitted to making the threats, Advocate reports.

He told authorities that he was not intoxicated or under the influence of drugs when he made the phone call, but said that he was a follower of the far-right conspiracy theory movement QAnon.

The group, which originated on 4Chan in 2017, is centered around the belief that there is a society of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles that run the world. 

QAnon, who have been deemed a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI, believe that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Donald Trump and played a major role in the Capitol insurrection on 6 January 2021.

Fox told authorities that he and other followers believe that transgender people are secretly running the government and major corporations and, after running the unnamed US Rep’s skull features through forensic analysis, he believed that she was transgender.

“Fox explained these movements believe all over the world there were transgender individuals running governments, kingdoms, and corporations,” court documents read. 

“Fox explained that he had run [the congressperson’s] skull features through forensic analysis and determined that [she] was born male and is now transgender.”

Fox has since retracted his threats against the unnamed US Rep and extended an apology.

The defendant has pleaded guilty to the charge of interstate threatening communications and now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.