QANON followers have been trending in the news since the fatal Capitol riot occurred on January 6, 2021.
The group is known for their conspiracy theories regarding former President Trump and their baseless claims about widespread election fraud which resulted in Joe Biden’s win.
QAnon followers believe that former President Trump will become president again on March 4 to carry on his war against the “deep state.”
The idea stems from the “sovereign citizen” movement who believe that in 1871 a law was secretly passed which turned the US into a corporation, disregarding the American government of the founding fathers.
QAnon followers are spreading the belief on the app Gab and Telegram, where most supporters have been communicating after being banned from Twitter.
Documents have been shared regarding the 1871 act, claiming it proves that Trump will be sworn in on March 4.
The March date comes from the fact that 1933 was also the year when inaugurations were changed from March 4 to January 20.
The dates were changed to shorten the period of outgoing presidents.
QAnon followers believe that Trump will become the 19th president of the original republic, and not the corporation that they believe the 1871 act created.
Trump’s Washington D.C. hotel has reportedly hiked its rates on March 4 – and it did the same thing on January 5 and 6, which were key dates in the Capitol Hill riot.
Jason Blazakis, a senior fellow at the Soufan Center, said: “Raising room prices will surely be interpreted by QAnon as Trump’s support for the March 4 narrative.
“They absolutely try to interpret the words and actions of President Trump very carefully.”
QAnon has been previously labeled a “domestic terror threat” by the FBI over its tendency to inspire violence.
The former president refused to condemn the group during an NBC town hall on the campaign trail, saying “I don’t know about QAnon”.
The QAnon follower base alleges a worldwide network of celebrities and politicians are part of a child sex-trafficking ring which is doing battle with Trump.
The cult-like belief spawned out similar viral conspiracy theories such as Pizzagate and historic hoaxes about cults linked to Satanism.
“Q” is the central anonymous figure of the theory, who was claimed to be a high-ranking government official inside the Trump administration.
Posts began to appear on internet forum 4Chan in June, 2017, before starting spread across social media.
QAnon activity exploded during the coronavirus pandemic, with reports of posts tripling on Facebook and Twitter.
Both social media giants tried to take action, but struggled to police the spread of misinformation.
