The U.S. House of Representatives already has two QAnon-believing Congress members: Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.
Will we soon see Q himself (allegedly) join them?
QAnon figurehead Ron Watkins officially announced that he is running for Congress as a Republican in Arizona on Thursday night in a bizarre video posted to his Telegram channel.
“I am here to formally announce my run for Congress in Arizona,” Watkins declared, saying the inspiration came from a right-wing pastor who has previously promoted the idea of executing women who have abortions.
Rumors had been spreading over the past few days when it was discovered that someone with Watkins’ name and known email address registered a “statement of interest” in running for Arizona’s first congressional district. The seat is currently held by Rep. Tom O’Halleran, a Democrat, who has been in office since 2016.
Ron Watkins had been living in Japan, but has recently been seen in Arizona with the Trump-endorsed candidate for governor, Kari Lake.
Watkins was the subject of HBO’s documentary series on QAnon, Q: Into the Storm. In the final episode of the series, documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback seemingly almost gets Watkins to admit that he was the anonymous figurehead of the QAnon conspiracy theory, whom so many of its believers followed.
QAnon began in October 2017 when an anonymous user posted using the name “Q” on the imageboard 4chan. These “drops” from Q, as they are called, formed the basis of this right-wing conspiracy: former-President Donald Trump is secretly waging a war against his political enemies in order to take down a global satanic child trafficking ring run by baby-eating Democrats and Hollywood elites.
By the end of 2017, Q had moved from 4chan to a competitor formerly known as 8chan, now 8kun. This website is run by Jim Watkins, Ron’s father. Ron also worked as the administrator of 8kun.
In 2020, during the pandemic, QAnon conspiracy theories exploded online and spread on major platforms like Facebook. On Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, many QAnon believers were seen leading the charge.
Watkins, as himself, has even pushed conspiracy theories about election fraud and the presidency being stolen from Trump. (Note: There has been no proof of election fraud and the election was not stolen from Trump.)
While many now believe Ron Watkins is “Q” due to the HBO series and these various connections, it’s still unconfirmed. However, Watkins almost assuredly was not the “Q” posting on 4chan, as studies and reports have confirmed.
While Ron Watkins would be the biggest QAnon name running for Congress, he’s not alone. Media Matters for America has discovered that 45 people who are running for Congress in 2022 have “endorsed or given credence” to QAnon conspiracy theories.
