Bill Berkowitz for BuzzFlash: QAnon Is Holding a Zombie Conspiracy Memorial Day to Rally the Pizza-Gate Troops
April 16, 2021
Like the zombies in “The Night of the Living Dead,” Qanon is relentless and continues to flex its conspiracy-generating muscles. (Elvert Barnes)
By Bill Berkowitz
In the spirit of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks’ “How can I miss you if you don’t go away,” QAnon, which has been relatively quiet since the January 6 Republican Party-led riot at the Capitol, now labeled a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI, is planning a gala Memorial Day weekend, high profile extreme right-wing comeback event/convention in Dallas, Texas, called “For God & Country Patriot Roundup,” organized by John and Amy Sabal, two QAnon true believers. Yahoo! Life’s Andrew Paul describes it as “a weekend full of Trump cronies, disgraced military personnel, right-wing social media D-listers, and people who once got a vague passing shout-out from Don Jr. via Twitter.”
QAnon has been around for nearly four years and now, has never been more popular despite numerous setbacks and defections. However, as David Gilbert reported for Vice in late March, “QAnon influencers and their followers now appear to be disavowing the group, telling anyone who’ll listen that ‘there is no QAnon.’” This attempt to cancel QAnon by its own followers comes in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, which tarnished the brand.
In his intriguing 6-part HBO series, Q: Into The Storm, exploring the cancerous QAnon conspiracy theory, filmmaker Cullen Hoback, identifies Q as Ron Watkins, a seemingly smart, awkward, nebbish-like, and self-centered figure living in Sapporo, Japan. His father, Jim Watkins -- a U.S. Army veteran turned porn, message-board, and pig-farm impresario -- is the current owner of 8chan (now known as 8kun), which was created by Fredrick Brennan.
According to Slate’s Aaron Mak, “Brennan began feuding with the Watkinses after authorities discovered that 8chan was linked to a number of mass shootings, including the ones in Christchurch, New Zealand, and El Paso, Texas. Brennan wanted to take 8chan down permanently, while the Watkinses wanted to keep it up based on what they said were free-speech grounds.”
For the uninitiated, QAnon is the wide-ranging internet-driven conspiracy theory that at its core maintains that the “deep state” is controlled by pedophiles among Hollywood elites and powerful child-trafficking Democratic Satanists, all of whom were against former President Donald Trump. As Vice’s Gilbert pointed out, “The name ‘QAnon’ has been used since the anonymous leader ‘Q’ first appeared on the message board 4chan. ‘Q’ was the poster, and the ‘anons’ were the anonymous 4chan users who followed the posts. Since then, the name has been used to describe not just the person posting the cryptic messages but also the wider movement, which relies on followers’ interpretations of Q’s clues, something previously unseen in conspiracy movements.”
As John Grant, a member of ThisCantBeHappening!, a new, online alternative newspaper, recently wrote at Counterpunch , “’Q’ is digital warfare. (‘Q’ being all the scammers and the duped, all the ignoramuses, loners, lost souls, whackjobs and psychopaths who either did the con or fell for it.) It’s the kind of disinformation warfare our CIA has made against foreigners for decades; now, it’s being used against us. With Trump still out there, there’s an effort to diminish democracy and encourage outright political war.”
For God and Country Patriot Roundup
Patriot Voice, which has organized the three-day “For God & Country Patriot Roundup,” has rounded up Hall of Fame Big Lie Trump supporters to join the festivities, including: disgraced retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the ex-national security adviser to Trump, Sidney Powell, formerly a lawyer for both Flynn and Trump, George Papadopolous, former Trump campaign advisor, and Lin Wood, one of the more detached from reality public voices of Stop the Steal efforts. Two pro-Trump prominent Texas Republicans, Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert and Texas Republican Party chairman Allen West will also join the gathering.
According to Central Track, a website covering the cultural landscape of Dallas and beyond, the event costs $500 for general admission, and will “include private VIP meet-and-greets (available to anyone with $1,000 to burn on a weekend VIP ticket), a private block party at the Omni, breakfasts, nearly 20 keynote speeches, panel discussions, Sunday church service and a late-night “patriot party” taking place inside the Gilley’s complex.”
Gilley’s Dallas and Omni Dallas Hotel will host the “For God & Country Patriot Roundup.” In response to criticism, the Omni issued a statement saying: “As a hospitality company, Omni Hotels & Resorts provides public accommodations and function space for many organizations, none of which reflects or indicates an endorsement for any group or individual.” (A trailer for the event can be found here.)
According to Central Track, this is the same “City of Dallas-owned Omni Hotel that thought it might be too political to use its iconic LED façade to post the words “Black Lives Matter” during last summer’s protests for racial justice.”
The people behind the May festival are John Sabal, aka QAnon John, and his wife, Amy. In early April, the Dallas Observer’s Jacob Vaughn reported that the event was announced on Andre Popa’s “Who’s A Badass Show.” Popa is also one of the scheduled speakers.
Sabal, who built “a following under the name ‘QAnon John,’” has been “kicked off Facebook and Twitter. According to Vaughn, it was Sabal’s wife, Amy, who led him down the QAnon rabbit hole:
Sabal knew about the supposed New World Order, the government controlling the weather and plots to depopulate the planet. He was a Trump supporter from Day 1, attending ‘the first’ inauguration. But Amy said Sabal didn’t know things, like, for example, that ‘John McCain' was put to death.’ McCain actually died in 2018 the day after his family announced he’d stop receiving treatment for his cancer.
Amy encouraged Sabal to keep researching “to learn more.” Sabal said, “What she did was she opened me up to the world of Anons and the wonderful number 17.” (Q is the 17th letter in the alphabet if you were wondering what the significance was).
And now in the post-Trump era: “A lot of people feel lost, confused, lonely," Sabal said. "They feel like the plan didn’t work out. They feel like Trump abandoned us. I’m here to tell you that is not the case. We’ve gotten so many coms from Trump and team since he ‘left the White House.’ I’m totally convinced that the plan is still moving forward. I believe this was actually part of the plan, as crazy as that sounds.”
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