QAnon Supporter Elected to Congress

Marjorie Taylor Greene securing a victory in a Georgia House election signifies the arrival of QAnon representation within the halls of the Capitol.

Greene has publicly aligned herself with this elaborate and unconventional conspiracy theory, which centers on the idea that President Trump is covertly battling a clandestine network of powerful individuals allegedly involved in child sex trafficking, among other unsubstantiated assertions. The FBI previously designated QAnon as a possible motivating factor for “domestic extremists driven by conspiracy theories” last year.

Greene’s electoral success represents a significant validation of this potentially harmful conspiracy, although it wasn’t entirely unforeseen: her Democratic challenger withdrew from the contest in September due to personal circumstances, effectively securing her path to a House seat.

Greene’s endorsement of a range of conspiracy theories is quite overt—as are her other convictions. Described as a “rising star” within the Republican party by President Trump, Greene has consistently voiced prejudiced and anti-Muslim perspectives. She has also promoted theories questioning the official account of the September 11th attacks and voiced opposition to mask-wearing, a practice endorsed by scientific evidence as a means of limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

QAnon, initially confined to the extreme margins of the internet, has prompted followers to commit actual criminal offenses, including the fatal shooting of a mafia figure in Staten Island and an armed confrontation that resulted in the blockage of the Hoover Dam bridge.

Those who subscribe to this conspiracy have also co-opted the hashtag #savethechildren, disrupting genuine initiatives aimed at child protection and introducing their radical viewpoints into broader discussions under the pretense of aiding children. Facebook, having previously prohibited QAnon content, restricted the hashtag’s visibility last month in response to this trend.

Additional candidates who identify with QAnon are competing in the 2020 elections, such as Jo Rae Perkins in Oregon, who is anticipated to be defeated by incumbent Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. Perkins openly expressed her beliefs and, in June, shared a video on Twitter declaring her commitment as a “digital soldier” for QAnon, accompanied by a widely used hashtag associated with the movement.