QAnon may be coming to Congress, and journalists need to be ready
“Gun-toting” restaurateur Lauren Boebert came out ahead of incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. She was described as a “guns rights activist” by Twitter, USA Today’s headline read, “5-term Rep. Tipton backed by Trump loses in Colorado primary, upset by businesswoman Lauren Boebert,” and The New York Times’ headline about her victory read “Lauren Boebert, Gun-Rights Activist, Upsets House G.O.P. Incumbent in Colorado.”
One aspect of Boebert’s history that initially received less prominent attention was her support of QAnon, a pro-Trump conspiracy theory baselessly alleging that Democratic officials are leaders of a worldwide pedophilia ring. The QAnon movement was name-checked in a leaked May 2019 FBI document highlighting the emergence of conspiracy theory-fueled domestic terrorism threats, and devotees have committed a number of murders, engaged in armed standoffs, and made politically motivated death threats. QAnon followers have vandalized churches, taken police on high-speech chases, and in one case, conspired with fellow followers to commit kidnapping.
“I hope that [QAnon] is real because it only means America is getting stronger and better,” Boebert told QAnon supporter Ann Vandersteel on Vandersteel’s SteelTruth show in May, adding that she was “very familiar” with QAnon. She also appeared on Patriots’ Soapbox, a popular QAnon YouTube channel. Additionally, Boebert appears to have a YouTube account that subscribes to multiple QAnon channels.
Since winning her primary, Boebert has tried to distance herself from the movement, telling Colorado Fox affiliate KDVR, “No. I’m not a follower. This is just a fake attack from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,” and adding, “QAnon is a lot of things to different people. I was very vague in what I said before. I’m not into conspiracies. I’m into freedom and the Constitution of the United States of America. I’m not a follower.”
While it’s good news that KDVR asked her directly about her connections to the movement, several experts on the subject worry about how the press will handle QAnon, generally.
In many ways, Boebert and other QAnon-following candidates have been normalized in the press. FiveThirtyEight published an article about the likelihood that Republican women will increase their representation in Congress with the November elections, and used a photo of Boebert. Her fringe beliefs are not mentioned anywhere in the article or accompanying tweet.
https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/qanon-may-be-coming-congress-and-journalists-need-be-ready