Intelligence Dispatch: QAnon Influencers and the Conspiracy Machine

QAnon influencers promoting a “precinct strategy” to infiltrate local Republican Party committees, and a right-wing militia propagates paranoid conspiracy theories.

This week on Radical Reports: QAnon influencers are promoting a “precinct strategy” in order to infiltrate and take control of local Republican Party committees, a right-wing militia and self-styled private intelligence firm propagates paranoid conspiracy theories, and Republican lawmakers have introduced legislative proposals to curtail the ability of local governments to prohibit the discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy”.

What to expect from Radical Reports: Weekly Intelligence Dispatches that provide a briefing on the activities of the Radical Right, Field Notes that provide research profiles of key organizations within the Radical Right, Legislation Watch that provides a breakdown of key legislative priorities of the Radical Right, and the Research Desk that highlights research and analysis from academia of the Radical Right.

Must Reads

• Alexander Reid Ross writes that White Nationalists through the so-called America First Movement (AFM) have “been a part of efforts to infiltrate Christian faiths through individual churches, podcasts, and political events, thus driving them toward the far right by distancing themselves from the white nationalist label and taking up the slogan of ‘America First’ and the cause of Christian nationalism.” [CARR]

• Sian Norris reports that recently published research reveals the funding of CitizenGo, the ultraconservative advocacy and campaign organization based in Madrid, Spain, is “linked to Russian oligarchs, the Vatican, the US Christian right and a disgraced Italian politician sentenced to four years in prison for bribery.” [Byline Times]

• The 1st Amendment Praetorian, a right-wing militia and self-styled private intelligence firm that offers protection for “Americans being attacked for expressing their political beliefs”, propagates paranoid conspiracy theories and intelligence memos that read like something “ripped from the thrillers” the group’s founder published, according to reporting from William Bredderman and Will Sommer. [Daily Beast]

• Alex Kotch and Michael Edison Hayden report that “donors gave the prominent white nationalist hate group VDARE $4.3 million in 2019, over eight times more than the year before, according to tax records the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) obtained and shared with Hatewatch.” [SPLC]

• Alex Kaplan reports how QAnon influencers have been encouraging their followers to infiltrate local Republican Party precinct committees, and the “QAnon community’s interest in and connection” this plan appears to have been successful and growing. [MMFA]

Intelligence Dispatches

• The South Carolina legislature is considering a proposal that would expand the state’s “right of conscience” laws to include mental health professionals with the intention of circumventing ordinances to ban so-called “conversion therapy” passed by local governments in the state — including the ordinance recently approved by the Columbia City Council. As more and more local governments have approve ordinances to prohibit conversion therapy for minors, Republican lawmakers have introduced proposals to curtail the ability of local governments to prohibit the practice of conversion therapy. In Wisconsin, Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to prevent the state Department of Safety and Professional Standards from implementing regulations that prohibit conversion therapy. In Oklahoma, a Republican lawmaker introduced the Parental and Family Rights in Counseling Protection Act, which would ban the state or local government from prohibiting a mental health professional or religious advisor from providing counseling that sought to treat “unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, identity, sexual or gender-identity expressions, or unwanted gender dysphoria.” In South Carolina, the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act was introduced by Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate — similar legislation was approved by the Arkansas legislature but vetoed by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The Christian Right will oppose any efforts to prohibit conversion therapy on the grounds that such prohibitions are an infringement of religious liberty. This opposition is led by organizations such as the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the Family Research Council, and the Liberty Counsel.

Events on the Right

• The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, a right-wing think tank that promotes “free market economic policy framed within Judeo-Christian morality,” will host Acton Institute Online on June 23-24.

  • Featured Speakers Include: Sam Brownback, Betsy DeVos, and Jeff Sandefer

• Operation Save America, a radical anti-abortion group that is involved with a campaign that lobbies municipal governments to pass ordinances banning abortion providers, will host the group’s National Conference on June 23-26 in Meza, Arizona.

  • Conference Partners Include: Apologia Church, End Abortion Now, Love Life, and Missionaries to the Preborn

• The American Family Association, a fundamentalists conservative Christian advocacy organization, will host the group’s Marriage Family Life Conference on June 24-26 in Tupelo, Mississippi.

  • Featured Speakers Include: Michael Brown, Ryan Bomberger, Jason Lisle, and Israel Wayne

• The National Right to Life Committee, an influential anti-abortion organization that has drafted several pieces of model legislation introduced by Republican state lawmakers, will host the group’s annual conference on June 25-26 in Herndon, Virginia.

  • Featured Speakers Include: U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, U.S. Rep Michelle Fischbach, James Bopp, and Dr. Matthew Harrison

• The Pro-Life Women’s Conference, an anti-abortion conference that appropriates the rhetoric of the feminist movement, will host the group’s annual conference on June 25-17 in Memphis, Tennessee.

  • Conference Sponsors Include: Abortion Survivors Network, Focus on the Family, Live Action, Radiance Foundation, and Susan B. Anthony List

Coming Up on Radical Reports…

Field Notes: The Christian Right law firm leading the assault on LGBTQ equality.

Mapping the Radical Right: The CPAC Network (Subscribers Only)