The Wild World of QAnon

From NPR's 9-3-21 report entitled "Jacob Chansley, Self-Styled 'QAnon Shaman,' Pleads Guilty To Felony Over Capitol Riot":

An Arizona man who sported face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns when he joined the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge and wants to be released from jail while he awaits sentencing.

Jacob Chansley, who was widely photographed in the Senate chamber with a flagpole topped with a spear, could face 41 to 51 months in prison under sentencing guidelines, a prosecutor said. The man who called himself "QAnon Shaman" has been jailed for nearly eight months since his arrest.

Before entering the plea, Chansley was found by a judge to be mentally competent after having been transferred to a Colorado facility for a mental health evaluation [...].

Chansley was among the first wave of pro-Trump rioters to force its way into the Capitol building. He yelled into a bullhorn as officers tried to control the crowd, posed for photos, profanely referred to then-Vice President Mike Pence as a traitor while in the Senate. He wrote a note to Pence saying, "It's only a matter of time, justice is coming." He also made a social media post in November in which he promoted hangings for traitors [...].

Chansley is among roughly 600 people charged in the riot that forced lawmakers into hiding as they were meeting to certify President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. Fifty others have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanor charges of demonstrating in the Capitol.

Only one defendant who pleaded guilty to a felony charge has received their punishment so far. Paul Hodgkins, a crane operator from Florida who breached the U.S. Senate chamber carrying a Trump campaign flag, was sentenced in July to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to obstructing an official proceeding.

Chansley's lawyer said his client has since repudiated the QAnon movement and asked that there be no more references to his past affiliations with the movement.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

From Eliza Relman's 9-1-21 BUSINESS INSIDER article entitled "Caesars Entertainment Cancels a QAnon Conference Featuring Michael Flynn at Its Las Vegas Venue":

Caesars Entertainment canceled a QAnon conference scheduled to be held in October at their conference space in Las Vegas, 8 News Now first reported on Tuesday.

The event, called the For God & Country Patriot Double Down, was set to take place October 22-25 with tickets selling for between $650 and $3,000.

"We can confirm that the Patriot Double Down will no longer be held at Caesars Entertainment properties," a Caesars spokeswoman, Kate Whiteley, told Insider. She declined to say why the event was canceled.

The group behind the event, the Patriot Voice, held a similar conference, called the Patriot Roundup in Dallas over Memorial Day weekend. Both events were organized by John Sabal, a Trump loyalist who goes by QAnon John, and center around a vast web of lies and baseless conspiracy theories.

Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, and Jim Watkins, who ran pornography sites before creating the online forum 8kun, where the anonymous "Q" user posts about the conspiracy theory, were expected to speak at the October event alongside a slew of other far-right activists.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

From Christopher Burns' 8-30-21 BANGOR DAILY NEWS article entitled "QAnon Conspiracy Theorist Who Organized Far-right Belfast Event Dies of COVID-19":

The conspiracy theorist who organized a far-right event calling for an audit of Maine’s 2020 election results in Belfast last month has died from COVID-19.

Robert David Steele, a former CIA officer turned promoter of far-right QAnon conspiracy theories, was hospitalized earlier this month after he began displaying symptoms of COVID-19, according to Vice News [...].

Steele also promoted antisemitic conspiracies and opinions, including that “satanic Zionists” are plotting against white people, that Jews aren’t “loyal” to the U.S. and called for the eradication of “every Zionist who refuses to be loyal to their country of citizenship and the rule of law,” according to the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. 

During last month’s event at the Crosby Center in Belfast, Steele and other attendees pushed for a “forensic audit” of Maine’s election results, although no such legal mechanism exists and there is no evidence of significant voter fraud or election irregularities here or nationally.

In addition to Steele, the event featured speeches from Richard Mack, the leader of a group arguing sheriffs can overrule federal law, and state Rep. Heidi Sampson, R-Alfred, who faces calls for her resignation over remarks she made earlier this month comparing Gov. Janet Mills to the Nazi “Angel of Death” Josef Mengele.

To read the entire article, click HERE.