In recent weeks, former President Donald Trump has openly embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory. Why it matters – and what might happen next:
after years of maintaining a friendly but arms-length relationship with the group? And what are the potential repercussions? USA TODAY conducted research on the organization and interviewed experts about it to decipher what is going on, why it matters – and what might happen next.What did Trump do to openly embrace QAnon?
.” That’s a common reference in QAnon parlance to Trump’s final victory when he regains power and vanquishes his opponents.Trump's veiled QAnon support goes back years That summer, as QAnon began growing in prominence, then-president Trump said he wasn’t really aware of the movement, but that its supporters were patriots who should be credited for backing his administration.
in the United States through August 2021. It found"that while QAnon presents a danger, it is not a traditional terrorist threat" that can easily be monitored or thwarted.In 2018, according to FBI documents, a Nevada man used an armored truck to block traffic at the Hoover Dam and was later arrested with body armor, rifles, ammunition and a flash-bang device inside his vehicle.
“It's one thing when a QAnon personality who has a show or is an influencer is encouraging vigilantism or extra-legal measures. It's another thing though, when Trump himself starts to validate it – and that's what is distinct about this moment,” said Carusone, a longtime Trump and QAnon watcher and authority on right-wing and religious extremism.
The theory has been widely debunked by a range of experts and there is no credible evidence to back it up. Nevertheless, Q became this mysterious online entity who began dropping mysterious clues and messages, known as “Q Drops,” to an increasingly large group of followers and supporters so they could decipher them. “It was portrayed as the ultimate battle between good and evil,” Carusone told USA TODAY.
But Robert Pape, a University of Chicago professor and expert on political violence, believes QAnon has a wide following among Americans, especially those with an anti-government bent who might be inclined to act on it if they believe Trump is asking them to. The FBI said such “fringe political conspiracy theories very likely motivate some domestic extremists to commit criminal, sometimes violent activity.” Trump himself was mentioned in the intelligence bulletin, as being at the center of the QAnon theory and for being the impetus for at least one incident committed by one of the group's followers. of the Capitol.