Intelligence Dispatch: QAnon is Alive and Well & 'In God We Trust' Bills

The QAnon community remains "healthy and active" on Telegram, and the national motto is being weaponized in a "concerted effort by Christian nationalists."

This week on Radical Reports: In the wake of the January 6th insurrection, social media platforms took steps to deplatformed accounts that promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory and other far-right extremists, however, a “healthy and active” QAnon community still exists on Telegram. The national motto of “In God We Trust” is being weaponized is a “concerted effort by Christian nationalists who view the motto as a tool to help legitimize an agenda of passing legislation that privileges conservative Christian values.”

What to expect from Radical Reports: Weekly Intelligence Dispatches provide a briefing on the activities of the Radical Right; Extremist Links provides a round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Field Notes provides research and analysis the strategies and tactics of 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.

Radical Right in the Spotlight

The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which has reportedly taken over the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the former President’s Justice Department, announced the hiring of Denver Riggleman, former Republican Congressman from Virginia, and Joe Maher, the Principal Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, as senior staff members of the committee.

Must Reads

• In the wake of the January 6th insurrection, social media platforms took steps to deplatformed accounts that promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory and other far-right extremists. However, Jordan Wildon and Marc-André Argentino write that “though there has been a decline in QAnon activity on Telegram from its peak in early 2021, a healthy and active community still exists on the platform.” [GNET]

• Tobias Hof writes that the events of January 6th were “another example in a series of cases where conservative and right-wing groups tried to (re-)claim political power by staging coup attempts at a time when their influence was threatened by a growing progressive movement in politics and society.” [Rantt]

• The national motto of “In God We Trust” is being weaponized by the Christian Right, as dozens of bills or local ordinances have sought to require the statement be displayed in government buildings, public schools, and police vehicles. Kristina Lee reports that the bills are part of a “concerted effort by Christian nationalists who view the motto as a tool to help legitimize an agenda of passing legislation that privileges conservative Christian values.” [TPM]

• The COVID-19 pandemic has been used by right-wing extremists across the globe to “exploited vulnerabilities in the social media ecosystem to manipulate people and disseminate conspiracy theories.” Mack Lamoureux reports that a new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that “as the pandemic put more people online for greater periods of time, the recruitment pool for Canadian extremists grew.” [Vice]

• Peter Montgomery reports that “religious-right groups and leaders are playing their part in the right-wing movement’s aggressive campaign to restrict teaching about systemic racism in American history, culture, and institutions.” [RRW]

Events on the Right

• Care Net, an anti-abortion network of so-called crisis pregnancy centers (CPC), is hosting the organization’s annual conference in San Antonio, Texas from August 23-26. (Price Tag: $299 - $644)

  • Conference Sponsors Include: And Then There Were None, Choose Life Marketing, and The Vitae Foundation

• The Family Research Council, a fundamentalist Christian advocacy organization, is hosting the Stand Courageous Men's Conference in Lynchburg, Virginia on the campus of Liberty University on August 28. (Price Tag: $60)

  • Featured Speakers Include: Pastor Jonathan Falwell, senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church and son of conservative Christian evangelist Jerry Falwell; Bishop Larry Jackson, regional bishop of Fellowship of International Churches, Jerry Prevo, president of Liberty University and CEO and Chairman of Christian Broadcasting, Inc

• Bards Fest, an event that appears to be organized by QAnon conspiracy theorist Scott Kesterson, is described as an event that “will bring together God-fearing, Christ-loving Patriots from all over the United States and the World to celebrate HIS glory, HIS might, and HIS love. Bards Fest is an assembly of Patriots coming together to pray with truth, to inspire action through knowledge and resources, to celebrate fellowship and family, and above all to celebrate the word of GOD.” The event is taking place at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri from August 26-29. (Price Tag: $40-$100)

  • 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,” will be participating in the event.

Subscribers have access the Events on the Right Google Calendar.

Coming Up on Radical Reports…

Extremists Links: Round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and the militia movements. (Subscribers Only)

Research Desk: Highlights of reports, studies, and papers that provide research and analysis of the Radical Right. (Subscribers Only)