The QAnon conspiracy web hinges on the deranged belief that a covert group of satanic cannibal pedophiles secretly controls the United States government, and that former President Donald Trump was sent to expose them.
As absurd as the theory is, it's not without its share of believers. The delusion made its way from the dark corners of the internet to the stages of Trump rallies, the halls of Congress, and the deadly failed insurrection against the U.S. Capitol.
Though QAnoners spent years believing anonymous posts from the internet claiming Trump would soon expose the Democratic lawmakers they hated so much, these hopes have largely subsided with Trump out of office for the better part of a year and no "master plan" to reveal itself.
That may be why Eugene "Gene" Ho—a candidate for Mayor of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Trump's former campaign photographer—deleted prior support for the deranged conspiracy theory from his website, according to a report from Ej Dickson of Rolling Stone.
New from me: Gene Ho has spent years publicly promoting QAnon and anti vaccine conspiracy theories. Now that he\u2019s running for mayor of Myrtle Beach, SC, though, we found that all references to Q have been scrubbed from his website:https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/qanon-gene-ho-mayor-trump-antivaxx-1235886/\u00a0\u2026— Ej Dickson (@Ej Dickson) 1633358161
Dickson was able to review past pages of Ho's website through the WayBack machine. Ho's home page for the site, Patriot Forty-Five, described its mission to "provide patriotic, Q & Jesus-lovin' gear that is Made in the USA."
In case there was any doubt of what the "Q" referred to, Ho's site sold merch with popular Q slogans like "WWG1WGA" (where we go one, we go all), "Get WQke," and other references to the QAnon mass delusion. The site even featured a shirt reading "Trump/Kennedy 2020," based on claims from some QAnoners that John F. Kennedy Jr. is actually alive and would be Trump's running mate.
But since Ho launched his mayoral run, the QAnon references have evaporated.
But the internet is forever, and people were soon reacting to the news.
South Carolina\nYou can not be that out of touch\nCan you https://twitter.com/ejdickson/status/1445034979667419139\u00a0\u2026— becky savery (@becky savery) 1633439782
So amazing, they scrub their Q affiliation because they know to be ashamed of it.https://twitter.com/ejdickson/status/1445034979667419139\u00a0\u2026— Rabbi Mike Harvey (@Rabbi Mike Harvey) 1633385427
My man has been all in on Q for a while. Gonna be hard to retcon that but somehow, they tend to find a way.https://twitter.com/ejdickson/status/1445034979667419139\u00a0\u2026— Kim Fritz (@Kim Fritz) 1633366705
Oh don't worry, we'll spread the bad word! I'll start...\n@GeneHoPhoto; \n#QANonNutGeneHo #AntiVaxxerGeneHo \n#FloriduhDeathCultMemberHo https://twitter.com/ejdickson/status/1445034979667419139\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/0VIUOzjt9H— Derik Van Derbeken (@Derik Van Derbeken) 1633386112
Gene Ho, a QAnon "true believer" and former Trump 'photographer', currently running for mayor in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, just scrubbed all references to the conspiracy group from his website.\n\nThey're desperately trying to infiltrate local govt.https://www.rawstory.com/candidate-gene-ho/\u00a0\u2026— KrisS \ud83d\udd25 Your Vote, Your Voice \ud83d\udd25 (@KrisS \ud83d\udd25 Your Vote, Your Voice \ud83d\udd25) 1633382537
Some fear that, in Myrtle Beach, Ho could have a chance at victory.
I chatted a bit about Gene Ho, and why the QAnon movement is focusing on easily winnable low-turnout local elections. Between Ho and the political "success" of Q evangelist Tracy Beanz, the Myrtle Beach area is surprisingly pilled.https://twitter.com/ejdickson/status/1445034979667419139\u00a0\u2026— Mike Rothschild (@Mike Rothschild) 1633393780
I read the headline and thought, there's no way Gene Ho could get elected\n\nThen I read "Myrtle Beach, SC"... And I'm not so sure— Anonymoose (@Anonymoose) 1633369729
Of course this GQP candidate is running for mayor of Myrtle Beach. Just perfect. #scpolhttps://twitter.com/ejdickson/status/1445034979667419139\u00a0\u2026— SC Voter (@SC Voter) 1633391138
[Everyone here in Charleston] Yeah, that scans.— This Charmless Man (@This Charmless Man) 1633367867
Ho has yet to elaborate on the deletion.
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