A bipartisan pair of congressmen introduced a resolution Tuesday forcefully condemning the QAnon conspiracy theory movement as dangerous and a threat to democracy.
Reps. Tom Malinowski, New Jersey Democrat, and Denver Riggleman, Virginia Republican, introduced the resolution.
“Conspiracy theories that falsely blame secret cabals and marginalized groups for the problems of society have long fueled prejudice, violence and terrorism,” Mr. Malinowski said in a statement. “It’s time for us to come together across party lines to say that QAnon has no place in our nation’s political discourse.”
“QAnon and the conspiracy theories it promotes are a danger and a threat that has no place in our country’s politics,” added Mr. Riggleman. “I condemn this movement and urge all Americans to join me in taking this step to exclude them and other extreme conspiracy theories from the national discourse.”
Conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon “undermine trust in America’s democratic institutions, encourage rejection of objective reality and deepen our nation’s political polarization,” reads part of their resolution.
QAnon began in 2017 with several cryptic internet postings that its proponents believe to be written by “Q,” an anonymous government official with a high-level security clearance, and has mutated significantly in the years since to “embrace virtually every popular conspiracy theory of the last several decades,” the congressional resolution reads in part.
President Trump was told last week that proponents of QAnon believe he is fighting a cult of satanic pedophiles, among other theories, to which he replied he was willing to do.
“I don’t know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House press briefing Tuesday.
Politicians were quick to dismiss QAnon afterward in light of Mr. Trump failing to do so, including several fellow Republican leaders who publicly denounced it in recent days.
Members of Congress will be pressed to outright condemn QAnon if the resolution is brought to a vote, but it is unclear at this time if and when that will happen, however.
The resolution, H.R. 1094, “condemns QAnon and rejects the conspiracy theories it promotes,” according to its language, and “urges all Americans, regardless of our beliefs or partisan affiliation, to seek information from authoritative sources and to engage in political debate from a common factual foundation.”
It also notes that several QAnon adherents have been implicated in criminal acts and encourages the FBI to continue to strengthen its focus on “extremists motivated by fringe political conspiracy theories.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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