MSNBC's Ali Velshi cites Media Matters' tracker of QAnon 2022 congressional candidates
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From the July 18, 2021, edition of MSNBC's Velshi
ALI VELSHI (HOST): QAnon once thrived in the darkest corners of the web, and while we still find traces of QAnon on our aunts and uncles' Facebook pages, the movement has largely dissipated on the internet. But that is not good news because QAnon is reappearing on a ballot near you.
After its failure on January 6, dozens of QAnon followers are attempting to lay a more durable claim to our federal seat of government. According to Media Matters, at least 40 people running for Congress in 2022 have publicly expressed some level of support for the QAnon conspiracy theories. The state with the highest numbers of QAnon candidates is, you guessed it, Florida. And politically, by the way, 38 of the 40 candidates are Republicans. There are two Democratic candidates who believe in QAnon, you wonder? No. The other two are independents.
Here's what we're working with, just an example. Ignacio Cruz is a Republican running for Congress in California. After he was accused of supporting QAnon, Cruz released this statement on official campaign letterhead. Quote, “From what I researched online, QAnon believes the following: If not for the election of Donald Trump, a worldwide cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles that rule the world and control everything would have continued ruling the world. Where do I sign up?" Here's another Republican running for Congress in California, this guy gets straight to the point. He took to Twitter last year, “Ask me anything." Gmoney says, “Do you support the Q movement?" This guy says, “Yep." No beating around the bush here. Though he later deleted this tweet, by the way, and told Axios that he did not recall sending it, nor does he endorse Q.
This is dangerous stuff. QAnon lies and people die.