The QAnon conspiracy theory hinges on the delusion that a "Deep State" network of satanic, cannibal pedophiles secretly controls the United States government, and that former President Donald Trump was sent to expose them.
Before the mass conspiracy infected the halls of Congress and the mainstream Republican party, it first developed in the dark corners of the internet on sites like 4chan and 8chan, known for their lack of regulation where the likes of mass shooters post their manifestos.
An anonymous poster claiming to be a national security official with "Q level clearance," known as "Q," routinely published cryptic messages vague enough to encourage followers to see conspiracies and uncanny coincidences where there were none.
As the administrator of 8Chan, Watkins and his father Jim played key roles in amplifying QAnon. Some—like Cullen Hoback, who had unprecedented access to the Watkinses for his documentary on QAnon, Into the Storm—believe Ron Watkins himself was "Q."
Since resigning as 8chan administrator, Watkins has worked with conspiracy theorists like Mike Lindell to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
And on Friday, Watkins announced he is running for Congress in Maricopa County, the swing district that's been a major target of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.
Watch the bizarre video below.
Well, it\u2019s official! QAnon Ron Watkins, after consultation with his pastor, says he\u2019s decided to \u201cdouble down with God as my compass,\u201d and filed today to run against Congressman Tom O\u2019Halleran from Maricopa. Your 2021 Republican Party!pic.twitter.com/RPFNwgaakg— Ron Filipkowski (@Ron Filipkowski) 1634258864
After falsely claiming Trump had his election "stolen," Watkins said:
"I have decided to double down, with God as my compass, to take this fight to the swamp of Washington, D.C. I am here to formally announce my run for Congress in Arizona, District number one. Our fight has only just begun, and I can't do it alone."
People surmised that Watkins' charisma on the internet didn't carry over to political campaigning.
My grandson is learning to read, and Q talks just like he talks when he's sounding out his words.https://twitter.com/PokerPolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Robin Bates (@Robin Bates) 1634286063
These guys should spend a little more time with their scripts so it isn\u2019t so obvious they\u2019re reading from ithttps://twitter.com/pokerpolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Regional man of mystery (@Regional man of mystery) 1634263501
Wow dynamic and inspiring stuff from Q himselfhttps://twitter.com/pokerpolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Tim Heidecker (@Tim Heidecker) 1634263494
With charisma like this, how can he lose?https://twitter.com/pokerpolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Patrick Gray (@Patrick Gray) 1634261945
Ron Watkins, making Mark Zuckerberg look positively emotive.https://twitter.com/PokerPolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Anti\\u2022Social\u2022/Media (@Anti\\u2022Social\u2022/Media) 1634304664
I forced a bot to watch over 1,000 hours of bad anime and then asked it to write a campaign kickoff speech. Here's what happened:https://twitter.com/PokerPolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Laura Jedeed (@Laura Jedeed) 1634330412
Though Watkins is only a recent Arizona resident in what's bound to be a crowded Republican primary, people still find his candidacy alarming.
Still trying to process how it\u2019s okay for the biggest Qanon activist to run for congresshttps://twitter.com/pokerpolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Abolish Police Dogs (@Abolish Police Dogs) 1634313858
This sounds like a template script written for a hard right-wing, Evangelical-catering candidate in an episode of the Simpsons.\n\nBut can't be overstated: the creator of Q just said he's running for Congress. My God, indeed.https://twitter.com/PokerPolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Jacob Wolf (@Jacob Wolf) 1634265939
Holy Dawg in Heaven, this cannot be reality...Arizona just jumped the shark.https://twitter.com/PokerPolitics/status/1448805527870443531\u00a0\u2026— Kian (@Kian) 1634264398
The midterm elections are on November 8, 2022.
