QAnon on the ballot: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory
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In some cases, Minnesota candidates have used official social media pages for their campaigns to post slogans in support of QAnon, which the FBI has warned is a conspiracy theory that could inspire domestic terrorism or violence. Some posts include references to a “Great Awakening” or “The Storm,” a prophesied reckoning in which elected officials, journalists and other members of “the Deep State” are rounded up for imprisonment or execution.
- Julie Dupré, a Republican challenging DFL Sen. Melisa Franzen in the southwest metro suburbs, calls QAnon “a really great information source” and “one of many that I use.”
- Melissa Moore, a state delegate for the GOP party since 2016, is running for a House seat that covers St. Louis Park and Hopkins. She has posted references to the Great Awakening and popular QAnon phrases like “WWG1WGA,” an acronym for “Where we go one, we go all” on her campaign Facebook page. She also maintains two Twitter accounts, one of which describes her as a #DigitalSoldier and includes frequent QAnon references. That account has more than 1,000 followers and follows 1,450 other accounts — many of which support QAnon.
- In a since-deleted video shot outside a church and later posted to Twitter last December, Gary Heyer, the GOP-endorsed candidate for a Minnesota House seat in Bloomington, described “inviting all of the churchgoers to partake in the great awakening.” In the video, preserved by the nonprofit research group Media Matters for America, congregants drove past a sign with “Q” and “Patriots Unite” emblazoned on its front. The sign included a disclaimer that it was paid for by “Gary Heyer for Congress” and included a hyperlink that now redirects to the website affiliated with Heyer’s state House campaign.
- Julie Buria, a Mountain Iron City Council member, is running for a state House seat. Buria sparked controversy this summer when she posted a graphic image comparing the Holocaust to Minnesota’s response to the pandemic. Minnesota GOP party leaders later said that Buria had apologized but, days later at a council meeting, Buria claimed that she was forced to apologize and did nothing wrong.
- Elizabeth Bangert, a child-care center owner running for the state Senate in the Mankato area, frequently posts videos recorded from inside her vehicle to her Minnesota Citizen Lobbyist page on Facebook. Bangert has also shared posts in support of QAnon and “the great awakening” on the social media platform, according to a screenshot of her personal account shared with the Star Tribune. About a dozen of the 56 accounts she follows on Twitter allude to QAnon.
- Joe Thalman, running for a Minnesota House seat that covers parts of the southwest metro suburbs, concluded his remarks at a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters in Bloomington last month by saying, “We’re seeking truth and justice and where we go one, we go all,” the QAnon catch phrase.
The Minnesota Republican Party did not respond to messages seeking comment.
https://www.startribune.com/6-gop-endorsed-candidates-in-minnesota-back-conspiracy-theory-of-qanon/572489641/
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