New Delhi: A Republican candidate from Georgia has become the first elected lawmaker to the US House of Representatives who has repeatedly advocated the debunked ‘QAnon’ conspiracy theories.The Associated Press reported that Marjorie Taylor Greene, a businesswoman, had won from Georgia’s 14th congressional district. She was already tipped to win unopposed as the Democratic candidate had dropped out from the race in September.Georgia’s 14th congressional district is a conservative stronghold, which fell vacant after the incumbent Republican representative announced that he wasn’t going to stand for re-election.Having emerged just three years ago, QAnon conspiracy theories are a network of intertwined beliefs based on anonymous web postings by a ‘Q’, who claims to be a Donald Trump administration insider. The key tenet of the QAnon theory is that President Trump is secretly battling a highly-placed paedophile ring.The Federal Bureau of Investigation has specifically listed QAnon among domestic conspiracy theories that have emerged as new domestic terror threats.Also read: Explained: How the QAnon Conspiracy Theory Gained a Foothold in AmericaThe US military academy at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Centre had published a paper which listed five violent crime cases linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory.A supporter holds a campaign sign for Republican US House candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene at a news conference in Dallas, Georgia, US October 15, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Elijah NouvelageAccording to Media Matters, Greene had posted in 2018 on Facebook about an “awesome post by Q” and talked about other conspiracy theories, including that the Barack Obama administration had sent MS-13 gang members to kill Democratic staff member Seth Rich. The media watchdog website had documented nearly 100 congressional candidates who espoused the conspiracy theories.Greene had also apparently posted the ‘Q’ slogan, “Where we go one, we go all”, which shortened to “WWG1WGA” on her social media accounts. Greene has tweeted using the hashtag ‘#GreatAwakening’ connected with the QAnon theory and appeared in videos calling ‘Q’ a patriot.In videos posted online, she claimed that there was an “Islamic invasion” in government offices and suggested that Muslims should not be allowed to run. She claimed that Jewish billionaire George Soros was collaborating with Nazis and Black and Hispanic men are being held back by “gangs and dealing drugs”.She also criticised the Black Lives Matter movement and the use of facemasks to protect against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, AP reported.After her win in the Republican primary, Trump had described her as a “future Republican star”.
