QAnon figure says he's running for congress to fix elections

3 years ago 220

PHOENIX – Ron Watkins, 1 of the astir salient figures successful the QAnon conspiracy movement, said Monday helium is moving for Congress successful Arizona due to the fact that the authorities is astatine the forefront of the combat by galore Republicans implicit the 2020 predetermination results.

Watkins, a salient promoter of mendacious claims that the presidency was stolen from Donald Trump, said helium wants “to hole the elections from wrong the machine."

“In the past twelvemonth oregon so, I’ve been truly progressive successful predetermination integrity issues and particularly retired successful Arizona, truthful I decided to travel retired present and conscionable instrumentality it to the adjacent step,” Watkins told The Associated Press successful a little telephone interview.

Arizona has been the epicenter of the propulsion by Trump galore of his supporters to find grounds backing the erstwhile president's mendacious claims that the 2020 predetermination was marred by fraud. Trump supporters hired by authorities Senate Republicans to recount ballots and reappraisal predetermination information confirmed Biden's triumph but spun falsehoods astir deleted data, treble voting and different malfeasance successful a study that ignored basal facts astir however elections are run.

For respective weeks, Watkins has posted videos connected the societal networking tract Telegram of his unsuccessful efforts to talk with Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, whom helium is pressing to record charges implicit the claims of predetermination irregularities.

Watkins has been vague astir his ties to Arizona.

Watkins said helium lived successful Yuma concisely arsenic a child, guessing it was betwixt the ages of 5 and 7, but couldn't retrieve if helium attended schoolhouse there. As supporting grounds of his Arizona ties, helium emailed a photograph of him arsenic a kid with his begetter and the household canine astatine the Grand Canyon. He besides said helium has household successful the authorities but declined to elaborate.

Watkins said helium moved to Arizona “about 2 weeks ago” but repeatedly refused to accidental wherever successful the authorities he's living, citing decease threats helium said he's received. On papers filed with the Federal Elections Commission, helium lists the code of a Phoenix condominium that has been owned since 2014 by Liz Harris and her husband, according to Maricopa County spot records. Harris led a radical of volunteers who interviewed voters astatine their doors and published a study claiming determination were tens of thousands of “lost” and “ghost" votes, but it had no supporting grounds and drew nonsensical conclusions.

Online existent property listings accidental the spot has a pending sale.

For his run headquarters, Watkins lists a Sedona code that appears to beryllium a post-office box. He said helium plans to unrecorded successful the aforesaid territory arsenic Democratic Rep. Tom O'Halleran erstwhile the caller legislature territory boundaries are finalized.

Under the U.S. Constitution, Watkins needs lone to beryllium an “inhabitant” of Arizona connected Election Day adjacent year. There is nary minimum play helium indispensable unrecorded successful the state, nor a request to unrecorded successful the territory helium wants to represent.

Watkins was the longtime head of 8kun and its predecessor, 8chan, online connection boards that were known for misinformation and hatred speech, and which played a important relation successful seeding the QAnon conspiracy movement. He has said helium gave up the relation past year.

A halfway content for QAnon followers is that Trump was secretly warring a Satan-worshipping, kid sex-trafficking cabal of salient Democrats, Hollywood elites and “deep state” enemies. An net poster calling himself Q fueled the question by posting clues connected the 8kun connection board.

Many judge Watkins himself is liable for the messages posted by Q. He denied it.

“I’m not Q. I ne'er was Q. I ne'er posted arsenic Q. I don’t cognize who posted arsenic Q,” Watkins said. “I mean, everybody’s got their ain hypothesis. I don’t person immoderate facts to backmost that up."

Arizona's legislature territory boundaries are inactive successful the works, but O'Halleran is astir definite to look a pugnacious re-election fight.

“I don’t deliberation common-sense Arizonans privation extremists representing them successful Congress,” O’Halleran said successful a video posted connected Twitter Monday, which highlighted Watkins' QAnon ties.

In summation to predetermination issues, Watkins said helium wants to walk a Digital Bill of Rights to forestall exertion companies from restricting online discourse.

“We request to marque definite that bots and companies and worldly aren’t censoring us, and we’re not being destroyed by algorithms, and we’re capable to get our connection out, and speech astir the things that are important without getting banned and censored everywhere,” said Watkins, who has been banned from Twitter.

He besides said helium wants to destruct COVID-19 nationalist wellness mandates and said helium fears the United States is inching toward creating a Chinese-style societal recognition strategy that would restrict radical from services based connected their purchases oregon nationalist activities.

Watkins is getting assistance from Tony Teora, a subject fabrication writer who has tally unsuccessfully for the California Assembly. If they rise capable money, they program to prosecute a run manager, unfastened an bureau and physique retired a campaign, Teora said.

“Ron’s going to physique a existent run retired here. But it’s going to beryllium based upon whether helium has support, truthful he’s going to find retired shortly,” Teora said.

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