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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe FBI Declared QAnon a Domestic Terrorism Threat -- and Conspiracy Theorists Are Psyched
QAnon believers have had a rough summer. Trumps July 4th rally, when many believed the late John F. Kennedy Jr. would emerge from hiding to claim his rightful role as Trumps running mate, came and went. So did July 31st, the projected date of declas, or the moment when the community believed that declassified documents pointing to deep state corruption would finally be dropped. Now, in what is perhaps the ultimate example of kicking someone while theyre down, Yahoo News has published a 15-page internal memo from the FBI declaring conspiracy theories a domestic terrorism threat.
Distributed on May 30th, the memo from the bureaus Phoenix office notes that it is the first report of its kind to take aim at conspiracy-driven domestic terrorism, citing a number of violent incidents the bureau believes were linked to conspiracy theories. The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge, spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts, the document says.
Although the memo lists a number of such theories, including Pizzagate and the conspiracy surrounding the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, it pays particular notice to QAnon, the wide-ranging (and extremely non-evidence-based) theory suggesting that Hillary Clinton and other high-ranking Democratic officials are engaged in a child sex trafficking ring, and that President Trump will one day arrest them and send them to Guantanamo Bay. QAnon followers also believe that the Mueller report was a smokescreen for Mueller and Trumps secret investigation into the Democratic officials and other global elites. While originating from the smaller corners of the internet, such as anonymous message boards and sites like 4chan, the theory has since gained traction in the mainstream thanks to proponents like Roseanne Barr publicly endorsing it, as well as President Trump himself retweeting a QAnon-related account earlier this week. (The account was subsequently suspended by Twitter.)
The FBI memo cites at least two violent incidents or attempts purportedly linked to QAnon: An Arizona man harassed and doxed locals he suspected of participating in the child sex trafficking ring at the heart of the conspiracy theory; and a Nevada man at the Hoover Dam whose truck was found to contain rifles and other ammunition, who was later discovered to have sent letters to President Trump containing references to the movement. (It does not cite the case of QAnon believer Anthony Comello, a Staten Island man who allegedly fatally shot Mafia boss Frank Cali because he believed he was a member of the deep state.)
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-domestic-terrorism-threat-conspiracy-theory-866288/
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)Nutjobs.
real Cannabis calm
(1,124 posts)QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged "deep state" against U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters.
Danascot
(4,664 posts)is the same Q in IQ but without the I.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Emergency Action Notification system message to their watches and phones. His private "army" are expecting his call to action any time, when they'll of course do...whatever he supposedly would tell them to do.
When I think of them actually trying to mobilize on instructions from our whackjob president, I could almost feel sorry for them. They wouldn't be driving around looking for a mob to join for too long as FBI and local police forces across the nation would get the alert when they did. Might not get out of the driveway.