Morning Briefing: QAnon Candidates
Morning Briefing: QAnon Candidates
There are now 78 candidates for public office in 26 states that either publicly endorsed or engaged with the QAnon conspiracy, according to a recent report.
Morning Briefing: There are “at least 78 QAnon-aligned candidates running for office in 26 states in 2022.” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), among the most prominent of the QAnon candidates, recently complained that the investigations of January 6th are an “over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time,” and that anyone that joins the U.S. military is “throwing your life away.”
A jury “acquitted two men of all charges in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,” however, the jury “deadlocked on charges against the two alleged ringleaders.” In response to the jury’s verdict, Republicans in Michigan and nationwide “are blaming the FBI, saying the plot was ‘politicized’ and denying it happened altogether.”
The avalanche of right-wing anti-LGBTIQ bills in state legislatures, as Republican lawmakers have “proposed at least 325 bills so far, with about 130 targeting transgender rights specifically.” These anti-LGBTIQ bills “are supported by major national groups, including the Family Policy Alliance, the Heritage Foundation, and the Alliance Defending Freedom”
U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), the right-wing conservative that has attended White Nationalist conferences, is now facing “three Republican challengers on the ballot against Mr. Gosar, a six-term incumbent, in this deeply conservative swath of western Arizona.”
Thomas Robertson, a former police officer, was found guilty by a jury after only a few hours of deliberation on charges related to the Capitol Riot. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden “issued the first outright acquittal of a defendant charged in the Capitol riot.”
Must Reads
Steve Reilly, Matt Stiles, Anya van Wagtendonk, Alex Leeds Matthews, and Justin Rood write that “dozens of politicians running for state or federal office are aligning themselves with the right-wing, conspiracy-rich, sometimes-violent movement known as QAnon. They’re drawing tens of millions of dollars in donations as the movement’s popularity stays strong among voters.” [Grid]
Kathryn Joyce writes that since Christopher Rufo “helped elevate CRT into a national culture war in 2020, Rufo has frequently been cast (or cast himself) as the new master strategist of the right, playing three-dimensional chess as he lays out his battle plans publicly and counts every media mention of them as a win.” [Salon]
Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham write that “at events across the United States, it is not unusual for participants to describe encountering the divine and feel they are doing their part to install God’s kingdom on earth. For them, right-wing political activity itself is becoming a holy act.” [The New York Times]
What to expect from Radical Reports: Morning Briefing provides a daily round-up of reporting on the Radical Right; Extremist Links offers a weekly round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right; Field Notes delivers research on key organizations and analysis of the strategies and tactics of the Radical Right.
