Kash Patel, Trump’s choice to head FBI, appeared on QAnon-themed show
The man who might be the next FBI director appeared on an episode of a show that promotes the QAnon conspiracy theory. Meanwhile, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is boosting his militia online again, and Texas journalists unmask some big-name neo-Nazi accounts on X.
It’s the week in extremism, from USA TODAY.
CNN: Kash Patel appeared on QAnon influencer show
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CNN’s extremism expert Donie O’Sullivan reported this week that former federal prosecutor Kash Patel, the man chosen by president-elect Trump to run the FBI in his second term, previously appeared on a show hosted by a major QAanon influencer.
- “You guys are the best, I love being on your program,” Patel told the MG Show, which is hosted on Rumble by Jeffrey Pederson, aka “intheMatrixxx,” a former IT professional who has become one of the leading promoters of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
- QAnon began as a set of anonymous posts on fringe online message boards. A user or users, identifying themselves as a mysterious whistleblower called Q, claimed to work inside the Trump administration. The posts alleged world affairs were controlled by a vast conspiracy of Democrats – who also worshiped Satan and abused children – and that Trump was part of a secret plan to vanquish them. Mass arrests, known by followers as “The Storm,” were coming at any moment.
- As CNN reports, Patel has also posted several times about QAnon and has talked about the baseless conspiracy theory on other talk shows. Trump has also increasingly promoted QAnon himself.
- In an interview, Pederson claimed to O’Sullivan that “Q” has posted at least twice about Patel in the past.
- A spokesperson for Patel told CNN the report was “a pathetic attempt at guilt by association.”
Oath Keepers Founder is blogging (again)
It’s been a few years since Stewart Rhodes, the Yale-educated attorney who founded the Oath Keepers posted regularly about his organization online, but he seems to be back at it. A SubStack named for the Oath Keepers has published three recent posts, including one this week that was signed by Rhodes.
- Rhodes, who was convicted last year of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, is currently serving 18 years in federal prison. His attorneys have expressed hope their client will be pardoned when Trump takes office.
- The latest SubStack post is largely a regurgitation of Rhodes’ previous writing and focuses on what being an Oath Keeper means. In short: obeying the U.S. Constitution and not obeying orders that violate the Constitution, according to the post.
- The Substack post also appears to include an attempt to rekindle recruitment in the Oath Keepers, which have largely disappeared from view since Rhodes’ arrest and incarceration.
- “So we reach out to BOTH current serving and retired/veterans, reminding them of that oath. We call our strategy ‘Reach, Teach, and Inspire,’” it reads. “We reach out to all of them, and we teach them more about the Constitution they swore to defend.”
Four major neo-Nazi accounts on X unmasked
An investigation this week in the Texas Observer names the people behind four influential accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that have shared hateful neo-Nazi and white supremacist content with millions of users.
- From the report: “Anonymity has long been a tactic used by extremists to spread their ideology while avoiding consequences, from Klansmen hoods to online pseudonyms. With such ideas spreading rapidly on X, the Texas Observer has identified the operators of four anonymous accounts that regularly share racist, antisemitic, and neo-Nazi content on the platform.”
- Three of the people running the accounts appear to live or have claimed to own property in Texas, where X moderation efforts are headquartered, the story notes.
- The four accounts are a small part of a much larger swathe of neo-Nazi and white supremacist accounts that have been allowed to flourish on Twitter since it was bought by billionaire businessman Elon Musk.
Statistic of the week: More than 50
That’s how many “active clubs” the Anti-Defamation League is currently tracking, according to the ADL’s weekly newsletter.
Active clubs are essentially training gyms where like-minded people, including racists, can train and fight each other.
From the ADL: “Active clubs are a prime example of current white supremacist goals: uniting people from across the movement, whose principles and methods can be (surprisingly) divergent. In 2024, more than 62% of Active club-affiliated events were collaborations with another white supremacist group – most frequently Patriot Front.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kash Patel, Trump’s choice to head FBI, appeared on QAnon-themed show
