What is QAnon and what did it have to do with the Capitol insurrection last week?

QAnon conspiracy theorists were among the rioters that broke into the Capitol building

Last week when a large crowd of pro-Trump rioters broke into the capitol building it could be seen that some of the people in this crowd had a strange large Q on their clothing or signs. This Q refers to a major conspiracy theory that has been increasing in the last few years called QAnon. The QAnon conspiracy believes that the world is governed by a group of satanic, evil pedophiles that form a secret group, called a cabal. This cabal controls world governments as well as the media and Hollywood. According to The Conversation magazine:

QAnon is a decentralized, ideologically motivated and violent extemist movement rooted in an unfounded conspiracy theory that a global “Deep State” cabal of satanic pedophile elites is responsible for all the evil in the world. Adherents of QAnon also believe that this same cabal is seeking to bring down Trump, whom they see as the world’s only hope in defeating it. (QAnon and the storm of the U.S. Capitol: The offline effect of online conspiracy theories)


The man in the strange furry costume is a major QAnon supporter

So QAnon supporters believe in an irrational and illogical theory that was spread on social media. They believe that their savior is Donald Trump, who will defeat the pedophile cabal and bring in a new golden age. This kind of belief is pretty common in world history and in the United States. Many people who feel left out of power and financial security are more likely to support conspiracy theories because they believe that there are secret and powerful groups that plot to keep them down. Although it is understandable that people follow these ideas on the internet, it is also clearly dangerous when they put these ideas into practice, as we saw with the Capitol insurrection last Wednesday. Read more about QAnon in the articles and videos below:

Explainer: What is QAnon? How a wild conspiracy theory led to the storming of the US Capitol

'It's like a parasite': How a dangerous virtual cult is going global