Two Arizona arrests have ties to QAnon movement: What you need to know

Richard Ruelas, Arizona Republic Published 12:04 p.m. MT Aug. 7, 2018

One man parked his self-made armored car on the bridge next to the Hoover Dam. Another occupied a cement plant in Tucson, convinced it was involved in an international child sex-trafficking ring.

Both men were followers of a conspiracy theory propagated online by a mysterious character known as “Q.” The two incidents, both this summer in Arizona, appear to be the first actions resulting in arrests of people who have taken the conspiracy from the virtual world and into the real one.

Some followers of the QAnon theory took prominent spots at rallies for President Donald Trump in July. Their signs, T-shirts and chants have brought international attention to a conspiracy theory that sprouted on the web less than a year ago.

Here is a primer on QAnon:

The QAnon theory

Someone posted a series of cryptic questions in October on the bulletin board website 4chan.

The person later claimed to have "Q clearance," a reference to the top-secret clearance provided by the Department of Energy, leading to the nickname of Q.

The theory spooled out by Q in a series of increasingly cryptic questions and clues, known in this world as “crumbs,” involves a theory that turns accepted facts on their ear.

In the QAnon theory, the Robert Mueller investigation is not going after Trump. Instead, Mueller is focused on crimes committed by former President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton and his wife, and former 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Trump is working with investigators to expose widespread corruption, in the QAnon world. Some of the crimes, according to the theory, involve pedophilia.

More:

https://ux.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2018/08/07/qanon-ties-two-arizona-arrests-conspiracy-theory-trump/920336002/