A bizarre conspiracy fantasy creeps into Texas politics: Candidates promoting ‘Q’
A bizarre online conspiracy fantasy about President Donald Trump overthrowing a satanic global ring of child molesters is being promoted by some local public officials and candidates.
On April 6, Colleyville Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Lindamood used his Facebook page to post the giant red-white-and-blue “Q” symbol of the delirious “QAnon” online alternate-reality fairytale.
He added followers’ not-so-secret code message, “Some know.”
The QAnon silliness began with anonymous 2017 message board posts that claimed Trump is secretly plotting a worldwide roundup of rampant child sex traffickers.
Supposedly. the coming purge of global elites, “deep state” federal officials and various Trump political opponents will be an apocalyptic event often described as a “Storm” or an “Awakening.”
QAnon hobbyists think “some know.”
They don’t know as much as they think.
Last year, after a series of incidents, thethe FBI Phoenix field office identified QAnon obsessives as fringe and a potential violent extremist threat.
“It’s one thing not to trust the government — but it’s another thing to say the government is a bunch of satanic child molesters,” said University of Miami political science professor Joseph Uscinski, author of “American Conspiracy Theories.”
“It’s strange somebody would endorse something that just sort of screams, ‘gullible and delusional.’ “
I reposted Lindamood’s “Q” on Twitter and said I wasn’t sure whether he was joking.
Lindamood, a Tea Party candidate elected in a 2015 takeover, replied on Facebook:
“I know you closely watch what I do, but can’t you write/tweet/post something nice about me? Just once please? I promise, I truly have good things you’ve probably over looked. Just ask my friends. I’m not sure where the love loss is between us? I’ll still save you a seat at our Stars and Stripes concert this June. Front row! And I’ll buy the beer #WhyCantWeBeFriends?”
He has responded before that he is too busy to answer questions and will only talk by email.
Lindamood is not the only candidate promoting QAnon.
Former Arlington mayoral candidate Ashton Stauffer, now known as Ashton Von SchtauffonBinder, commented on Lindamood’s post and has reposted other comments with the QAnon slogan #WWG1WGA (“Where We Go One We Go All”).
Also, a Republican candidate in neighboring Hood County posted a QAnon video on Facebook that includes #WWG1WGA.
Dub Gillum, a retired state trooper running for peace justice, posted the video with the one-line comment: “Wow.”
After this column was originally published, he added in the comments: “Ever been to a Great Science Fiction movie ... like say ... Star Wars ... and when you walk out you say “Wow” ... Kinda like that. :) Or even better George Orwell’s 1984 ... did any of that came true???”
Some QAnon content also includes the “Punisher’s skull” emblem from the Marvel Comics character, a militia symbol of defiance against authority.
California author Mike Rothschild, author of “The World’s Worst Conspiracies,” said he isn’t surprised to see local politicians using QAnon.
He described the idea of a secret operation to purge the deep state as “entirely nonsense ... It’s Tom Clancy meets Dan Brown meets Timothy McVeigh.”
In the end, he said, “Q believes that a violent and unconstitutional purge of [President Donald] Trump’s enemies is the only thing that can save the country.”
Uscinski, the Miami professor, said a lot of the ideas in QAnon date back to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and ensuing conspiracy claims involving federal agencies and rampant sex parties in New Orleans.
If a candidate is promoting QAnon, he said, “It just shows their beliefs aren’t tethered to reality.”
“I wouldn’t trust them to make decisions on public policy,” he said.
The Anti-Defamation League monitors conspiracy and militia groups for potential violent extremism.
The ADL is concerned about QAnon, researcher Vegas Tenold wrote by email.
‘It is absoutely dangerous and harmful for politicians to spread a patently untrue conspiracy theory,” Tenold wrote.
“ ... Ignoring all the wild satanic death cult stuff, it makes all opposition to Trump illegitimate and traitorous.”
It’s even more dangerous when they get elected.
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
