(Washington) The administrator of a website seen by many as linked to the pro-Trump and conspiratorial movement Qanun declared himself a Republican candidate to become Arizona’s representative in the US Congress.
Ron Watkins announced in a video posted on Telegram Thursday that he will seek a seat in the House of Representatives, which is currently held by a Democrat, in an election scheduled for 2022.
Echoing Donald Trump’s baseless claims about the 2020 presidential election, Ron Watkins has presented voter fraud as a major issue.
Image from Telegram
Ron Watkins with Republican nominee for Arizona Governor Carrie Lake.
President Trump’s election has been stolen, not only in Arizona, but also in other states. We must now lead this fight in Washington, to vote against all the dirty Democrats who stole our republic.
Ron Watkins
Ron Watkins and his father Jim run the controversial 8chan forum, now called 8kun, which is used by the far right.
In 2017, mysterious anonymous letters from a certain “Q” were published there, provoking various conspiracy theories.
Over the years, what became the QAnon movement has convinced more and more Americans, and last year the FBI claimed it was keeping tabs on this far-right group, which is seen as dangerous.
Adherents of these theories are particularly convinced that a secret gang in Washington is seeking to harm Donald Trump, and it is believed that they are receiving classified information and encouragement from the former president’s entourage.
Suspected of being lawful
The identity of “Q” remains secret, but many believe it was in fact the Watkins family.
Q stopped publishing in December, after Trump’s defeat and when Ron Watkins was involved in the former president’s campaign to prove election fraud, the claim that failed is not supported by any evidence.
The QAnon movement ran out of momentum, but some followers took part in the violent attack on Congress on January 6, and Republicans who supported the group won seats in Congress.
About 40 people who support or agree with QAnon’s theories are running for Congress in the 2022 election, according to the Media Affairs Monitor.
