Report: QAnon Supporters Arrested in Philadelphia Were Planning to Deliver ‘Fake Ballots’ to City

Report: QAnon Supporters Arrested in Philadelphia Were Planning to Deliver ‘Fake Ballots’ to City

Two Virginia men who were arrested Thursday outside a ballot counting location in Philadelphia were “coming to deliver a truck full of fake ballots” to the city, CBS affiliate KYW-TV reported Friday, citing prosecutors.

The men were arrested on weapons charges after city police received a tip and located their vehicle, a silver Hummer. The suspects were both carrying loaded handguns, and an AR-style rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found in their vehicle, which had stickers on it promoting QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory.

A QAnon hat was also seen on the dashboard.

Text messages between Antonio LaMotta, 61, and Joshua Macias, 42, indicate the men had doubts about the legitimacy of the vote counting process at the Philadelphia Convention Center, prosecutors said.

Details about the fake ballots were not provided.

President Trump has spent the last few days making false claims about the vote counting process, alleging without any evidence that illegalities are occurring that benefit Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

LaMotta and Macias were arraigned Friday night, with bail set at $750,000 each.

William Vaillancourt

William Vaillancourt is a writer and editor from New Hampshire whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Progressive, Slate and Areo Magazine, among other places. He holds a BA in Political Science and History from Boston University.

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