Lin Wood Makes QAnon Gesture, Pushes Conspiracy Theories During South Carolina Rally

QAnon-supporting attorney Lin Wood has once again falsely claimed Donald Trump is still president while making "Q" gestures with his fingers while giving a speech at a rally in South Carolina.

Wood, who is intending to challenge Drew McKissick for the South Carolina GOP chairman, was speaking at a "Win with Lin" event at the Ground Zero venue in Myrtle Beach on April 23.

While standing in front of a screen of an American flag, Wood tells the audience "everybody in this auditorium is waiting for the day Donald Trump steps out in front of the cameras and say to the masses 'I'm back,'" prompting cheers from the crowd.

"I'm a little different," Wood adds. "You're waiting for that day, I'm waiting for this day: The day where Donald Trump walks on stage in front of the masses and looks at you and says 'I never left.' Because he didn't leave you, Donald Trump did not leave you."

Wood then appears to write out the letter "Q" with his finger while repeating the line "he did not leave you."

"Donald J. Trump is still president of the United States of America, and don't you forget it. Eighty million people said 'we the people, we pick Donald J. Trump.' He is your president, and the other side knows it, they know that soon their day is coming."

The lawyer recently made similar falsehoods about Trump still being president and wrote out a "Q" with his finger while speaking at the Health and Freedom Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which promoted loud cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd.

Elsewhere during his speech in Myrtle Beach, Wood demanded that there needs to be "justice" for all the people that are "selling little children," telling "the other side" that justice is coming.

A prominent belief of the QAnon movement is there exists a cabal of satanic pedophiles which include top Democrat figures such as Hillary Clinton, with QAnon supporters co-opting the "Save the children" slogan and hashtag to help promote the movement.

Wood later said the QAnon slogan "where we go one we go all" and again made the Q sign with his finger. He also made reference to John F. Kennedy Jr.—who QAnon supporters believe is still alive—during his speech.

Elsewhere, Wood described President Joe Biden as a "crook" and a "criminal," referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Cabala Harris," and called Barack Obama a Muslim, a debunked conspiracy theory dating back several years. Wood also repeatedly disputed the threat of COVID-19 and spread misinformation about the vaccines.

In a statement to Newsweek about his inaccurate statements, Wood said he was exercising his First Amendment right of free speech to express his opinions, including how Trump won the November 2020 election "in a record landslide" and the Biden administration being "fake."

Wood added. "We The People re-elected President Trump. In my opinion, Barack Obama was a Muslim who does not support the United States Constitution.

"In my opinion, the Q movement seeks justice and accountability for crimes against humanity being perpetrated on children. I support that position as I fight against child sex trafficking and pedophilia.

"In my opinion, 'Where we go one we go all' is a statement that promotes unity in our country. I support unity."

Wood added that he referred to Vice President Harris as "Cabala" because she is "one of a group of individuals and entities that does not support the United States Constitution" and that he gave her the name "as a matter of protected political or rhetorical hyperbole" to make his point.

"If any individual mentioned in my speech believes that I falsely defamed him or her, they certainly have the right to bring a defamation lawsuit against me," Wood added. "I do not believe any such lawsuit would be successful under the First Amendment.

Wood, who rose to prominence as a high-profile defamation lawyer, is now known for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in favor of Trump along with fellow attorney Sidney Powell with their ridiculed and frequency thrown out "kraken" lawsuits.

He is also known to be one of the biggest and most influential advocates of the QAnon movement and has frequently pushed conspiracy theories about the election, as well as other false claims linking Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Wood also faced calls to be investigated for suggesting former Vice President Mike Pence should face "execution by firing squad" for failing to stop the certification of Biden's election victory.

Wood was eventually banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation about the election after the January 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.

Since then, he has managed to attract more than 837,000 subscribers to his account on Telegram, by far the largest of any other QAnon influencer on the encrypted messaging service app.

In a blow to Wood's chances of becoming South Carolina GOP chairman, Trump announced his support for the incumbent McKissick in March.

"Drew McKissick has done an outstanding job as South Carolina GOP Chairman, electing more Republicans in 2020 than in over 140 years," Trump said in statement. "Drew fought all the way to the Supreme Court to defend our voting laws-and WON.

"He will continue to grow the party and help Conservatives get elected in the Great State of South Carolina. Drew has my Complete and Total Endorsement for re-election!"

This article has been updated with further comment from Wood.