August 13, 2019

Trump’s Encouraging QAnon May Result in Violence—Just ask the FBI

https://www.justsecurity.org/65659/trumps-encouraging-qanon-may-result-in-violence-just-ask-the-fbi/?fbclid=IwAR0jYCcIQiUKWrZtz59P1yrG1OLxPG3SoDrQjnyJOXm6GGL0pOOuJjNVqog
"On Thursday, Yahoo! News published an exclusive story detailing a May 2019 FBI assessment that online conspiracy theories “very likely” result in domestic extremists committing violent crimes. The report notes that it is “the first FBI product examining the threat from conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists and provides a baseline for future intelligence products,” and predicts an increased risk of violent outcomes as the United States enters “major election cycles such as the 2020 presidential election.” If that happens, it may be in no small part due to President Donald Trump’s endorsement and amplification of conspiracy theories and theorists such as QAnon. A few hours after the FBI assessment leaked, the President held a campaign rally in Cincinnati, where the pre-rally speaker Brandon Straka called out the phrase, “Where we go one, we go all,” a rallying cry of QAnon believers. That’s just the tip of the iceberg."