All For A LARP: QAnon Goes To War With Pro-Trump PAC
People sometimes ask me what happens if QAnon ends. I usually assume they define “QAnon ending” as the people behind Q giving up the LARP. Hypothetically, the person or persons behind Q might give up the game because of legal pressure, being outed, or (less likely) realizing it’s wrong to lie to people from behind an 8chan tripcode.
I’m fairly confident that the end of Q won’t be the end of QAnon. Followers of the conspiracy theory have proven themselves adept at rationalizing away every disconfirmation of their beliefs. I’m sure many will dismiss the total collapse of Q the way they’ve dismissed all the failed predictions and general incoherence of QAnon. Perhaps a post-Q QAnon will emerge, in which steadfast believers still maintain hope that the mysterious Q is working behind the scenes, even though there aren’t any new Q drops.
Of course, there is also a more dangerous possibility: that some QAnon followers will awaken to the fact that they’ve been duped, while being left with the anger and sense of injustice that drew them to QAnon in the first place. But this realization will merely rob them of the hope that Q will deliver the “justice” they imagine should be rendered. Who knows what they might do once they finally stop “trusting the plan.”
But that’s all just hypothetical for the moment. For now, the QAnon community still, tragically, seems steadfast in their conviction that Q is the real deal. And that’s certainly evidenced in this handful of ways that QAnon as affected real life in the past two weeks.
The QAnon Crew Goes To War With Gorka And The MAGA Coalition
QAnon has been criticized by many across the political spectrum. Q and those who use QAnon to build up online audiences usually ignore and dismiss those critics.
However, Q has recently lashed out at former White Official Sebastian Gorka and The MAGA Coalition, a small Political Action Committee. Q posted a series of links about the MAGA coalition, which Gorka had briefly worked for. Then Q linked to the FBI tip line, baselessly implying that Gorka and the MAGA coalition had done something worthy of the FBI’s attention.
Patriot’s Soapbox, the 24-hour QAnon livestream on YouTube, posted Gorka’s address and his wife’s name. QAnon followers on Twitter posted images of Gorka’s house.
“Praying Medic,” one of the most popular QAnon “decoders,” appeared on the show Your Voice America to make what appeared to be a not-very-subtle threat to Gorka and the MAGA coalition.
QAnon “decoder” Praying Medic not so subtly threatening people who criticize Q and the QAnon community. The implication is that critics of QAnon, and he’s hinting specifically at certain pro Trump QAnon critics, may become the focus of the conspiracy itself. https://t.co/OLu19UXTt4
— Travis View (@travis_view) March 27, 2019
The MAGA Coalition also caused some consternation for Coleman Rogers aka Pamphlet Anon.
Pamphlet Anon (Coleman Rogers) at @PatriotsSoapbox MELTS DOWN over #QAnon being called out as a LARP – “It’s too late suckers!” pic.twitter.com/UXTl5CXL6z
— Isaac Green (@antischool_ftw) March 30, 2019
Interestingly, there appears to be a personal connection between QAnon and the MAGA Coalition: Ann Vandersteel. Vandersteel is a QAnon promoter who has appeared on the QAnon livestream Patriots Soapbox. Vandersteel is also married to John Krueger, who (according to FEC documents) is the co-founder of MAGA Coalition.
Adam Gringrinch, the current president of MAGA Coalition, also posted a photo of himself with Praying Medic, one of the most prominent QAnon “decoders.”
— JohnWickofPolitics (@Gingrich_of_PA) March 31, 2019
I can’t say I know the whole story here. But it seems like the feud between MAGA Coalition and Q was sparked more by bad blood than politics.
QAnon Followers Make Their Presence Known At Michigan Rally
A watershed event for QAnon was the Tampa, Florida Trump Rally on July 31, 2018. At that rally, QAnon followers made their presence known in a way that caught the attention of the media, and brought the community into more widespread awareness. After that event, however, security at Trump rallies cracked down on Q apparel, and QAnon believers were less visible.
However, for the Grand Rapids, Michigan rally on March 28, security may have simply given up on the Q t-shirt ban. QAnon followers proudly posted several selfies of themselves decked out in QAnon gear.
#DoitQ #Qanon #Q Grand Rapids loves Q!!! @realDonaldTrump @POTUS @TrueEyeTheSpy @SecPompeo @seanhannity @TuckerCarlson @charliekirk11 @Cordicon @StormIsUponUs @beer_parade @qanon76 @ffe3301 @RealCandaceO @GenFlynn @BarbaraRedgate @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/PxvREDzIcB
— Donna ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@truthseekerd) March 28, 2019
NBC News reporter Ben Collins noted that the number of pro-Q people in a video from the rally was “absolutely shocking.”
I’ve been covering Qanon for a year, and the amount of pro-Q people in this video from yesterday’s Trump rally line in Grand Rapids is absolutely shocking. This is just a portion of it. pic.twitter.com/hTDGEnPsEi
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) March 29, 2019
QAnon Shows Up At Pro Brexit Rally
I would argue that the United States has provided the world enriching cultural exports such as jazz, bourbon, and feature-length animated films. So that partially makes up for the fact that QAnon seems to have spread to parts of the Anglosphere and beyond.
Spotted a Qanon sign at the Leave protest in Parliament square in London just now. #Brexit pic.twitter.com/2TnMmlBBzu
— Seventh (@skeptical7th) March 29, 2019
On March 29, thousands in London participated in the March to Leave protest. Spectators and journalists posted more than a few images of pro-Brexit demonstrators sporting QAnon symbols on sings and vests.
#Qanon has made it it to the Brexit rally on Whitehall/parliament sq pic.twitter.com/zGSu72A46B
— Henry Langston (@Henry_Langston) March 29, 2019
While QAnon is a conspiracy theory that is primarily focused on the United States, its populist message and promised punishment of the “deep state” resonates with conspiratorial people internationally.
In fact, QAnon followers even popped up in Amsterdam recently.
According to this Dutch QAnon follower, Q symbols made an appearance at a demonstration in Dam Square in Amsterdam today. pic.twitter.com/EYionQ4nZf
— Travis View (@travis_view) April 6, 2019
Law Enforcement Takes An Interest In 8Chan In The Wake Of The Christchurch Massacre
In March, it appears that U.S. law enforcement and government agencies paid a lot of attention 8chan, the home of QAnon.
Every month 8chan publishes a “Transparency Report.” This report includes the number of requests from law enforcement that the website received, as well as the number of times the site complied with those requests. Usually, 8chan receives anywhere between zero to two law enforcement requests in a given month.
However, according to 8chan, the site received and complied with 12 U.S. law enforcement requests for the month of March 2019.
Every month 8chan publishes a “Transparency Report” which includes how many law enforcement requests the site complied with in the past month. Usually, the number is 2 or less.
However, 8chan claims they complied with 12 requests from US gov or law enforcement agencies in March. pic.twitter.com/100p5OxYqg
— Travis View (@travis_view) April 4, 2019
The deadly shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand probably accounts for the heightened law enforcement interest. But the true reason is unknown at the moment.
The Board Owner Of /Qresearch/ Suddenly Steps Down
The home base of QAnon is the 8chan board /qresearch/. The moderator, or “Board Owner,” of the board announced on Saturday that he will be stepping down “due to pressing IRL needs.” According to the announcement, the moderation of the board will now be handled as a group by “Board Volunteers.”
The moderator of the 8chan /qresearch/ board (called the Board Owner or BO) has announced that he will “resign his position due to pressing IRL needs.”
The announcement claims that Board Volunteers will run and maintain the board, making decisions as a group.
h/t @Jared_T_Swift pic.twitter.com/wRVrFL9EiV— Travis View (@travis_view) April 6, 2019
It’s not known what this means. But it is strange that the board owner of such a highly popular 8chan board would step down without a clear explanation.
