Robert Regan, the GOP-backed nominee for a Michigan state House seat, used the right-wing video site Rumble to endorse the killings of President Joe Biden, Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, among others. 

Regan has also frequently shared right-wing media-fueled conspiracy theories on social media, including advising people to “study” and “apply” QAnon to their lives like they do with the Bible, and falsely claiming that Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman “staged” his famous face down with insurrectionists inside the Capitol on January 6. 

Media Matters and other observers have documented how Republican politicians have relied on social media to promote conspiracy theories, often from fringe right-wing outlets.  

Regan is an author and businessperson who is the Republican nominee in a special election for a state House seat in Michigan. The Michigan Republican Party has endorsed his candidacy. 

He has appeared in right-wing media over the years, including on Fox News, Newsmax, and local western Michigan radio station WOOD. 

Regan recently made headlines because of his comments about rape. He appeared in an online video with a right-wing group and compared people saying it’s too late to decertify the 2020 election to saying: “I tell my daughters, well, 'If rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it.'”

Regan has also pushed antisemitism on Facebook. He posted a meme from a pro-Nazi website claiming that feminism “is a Jewish program to degrade and subjugate white men.” He also shared a piece from a fringe site claiming that Jewish people, led by the Rothschild family, were responsible for 9/11, assassinated Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, and control the banks and media. 

Media outlets have also noted that Regan is a 2020 election conspiracy theorist and has claimed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “fake war just like the fake pandemic.” 

Media Matters found numerous other conspiracy theories on his Facebook and Rumble accounts. Here are some -- but not all -- of them. 

Regan endorsed a COVID-19 conspiracy theory video that called for killing Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Jacinda Ardern, and Anthony Fauci. Regan used his Rumble account to post a music video that’s been shared on right-wing sites called “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Genocide.” Regan put his campaign logo at the beginning of the video and website address during it. As the title indicates, the video falsely argues that the coronavirus vaccine is causing genocide. 

The conclusion of the video contains the lyrics: “Because the government lies one day we’ll see these bastards swing.” The video includes images of prominent individuals next to a guillotine or noose. The targets include, among others, President Joe Biden, Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Boris Johnson, and Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

Rumble is a right-wing video platform that has positioned itself as an alternative to YouTube. It is popular with right-wing users because of its lax content moderation and, as a result, is filled with misinformation and toxic rhetoric.

The following are images from the video on Regan’s account:

Reagan is a QAnon supporter. Regan has frequently praised QAnon, the violence-linked conspiracy theory that started on message boards and has been embraced by members of the Republican Party. 

He made a January 25, 2021, video that he posted to Rumble in which he praised the conspiracy theory and compared studying QAnon to studying the Bible, stating: “Just like Christianity, you want to study your Bible for yourself. You want to observe what it says, interpret what it says, and then apply it to your life. The same thing needs to be happening right here with this movement.” From his video: 

Regan has also posted that Q -- the supposed person or persons behind QAnon -- “is spot on with intel” (Regan sometimes refers to “Q” as “Kew”). He also stated that QAnon followers “are over the target and winning” and celebrated pro-QAnon memes. 

There are at least 11 members of state legislatures that have expressed some support for QAnon, including Michigan state Rep. Daire Rendon (R). 

Here are 7 other examples of Regan embracing QAnon on Facebook: 

(“WWG1WGA,” or “where we go one, we go all,” is a QAnon slogan.)

Regan called the January 6 insurrection a “false flag,” “staged,” and a “hoax.” Regan posted pictures of himself in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. (Regan has said he didn’t go inside the Capitol.)  

Regan posted that Officer Eugene Goodman “staged” his encounter with January 6 insurrectionists. During the January 6 insurrection, Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman famously faced down insurrectionists breaching the Capitol building. Regan claimed: “Staged. This policeman tried almost as hard to keep protestors out of the Capitol as Congressmen tried to keep China out of the Capitol. You know I’m right.” 

Regan posted a meme that listed 9/11 as a government lie. In response to the pandemic, Regan posted a meme that said the government “lied” that “jet fuel melted steel beams.” The claim that fire doesn’t melt steel is a frequently used and debunked claim from 9/11 conspiracy theorists who believe that the World Trade Center was brought down by explosives. 

Regan posted a meme falsely stating that Obama was born in Kenya. Former President Barack Obama was born in the United States despite right-wing media claims otherwise. 

Update (3/14/22): Regan also appears to have called for the execution of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (Regan has additionally tweeted that she should be arrested.) On one of his Twitter accounts, Regan posted a picture of an electric chair with the words: “It’s time for Gretchen to face the music.”