QAnon Believe Trump Impeachment Trial Part of 'Plan' for White House Return
As senators debate whether to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial, barring him from running for office again, followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe the proceedings are merely part of the plan that will see him return as president next month.
The Senate will vote on whether Trump incited his supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6, sparking a riot that led to the deaths of five people.
Republicans and Trump's lawyers argue that the trial is unnecessary and unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president and it prevents the healing needed in the divided country. Democrats have pointed to previous trials of former officials and argued that the nation cannot come together unless there is justice for the unprecedented attack.
For followers of QAnon, some of whom took part in the insurrection on January 6, the impeachment trial is actually part of Trump's plan to set a precedent for other former officials such as Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to stand trial for "crimes" they are falsely accused of by the conspiracy theorists.
Previous incarnations of "the plan" that have gone awry include Trump failing to take down a cabal of satanic pedophiles while in office, losing the 2020 election, failing to prove election fraud and then not ordering mass arrests and executions at Joe Biden's inauguration.
"Sure are a ton of Dems and political talking heads working overtime telling everyone how ex-presidents can (and should) stand trial after they're out of office," read a message posted to a Telegram channel called We the Media. We the Media is one of the most popular networks of QAnon supporters on the encrypted messaging app.
"The only reason to have an impeachment on a former President is to set precedence for future impeachments of former Presidents."
Another Telegram user, Michael, wrote: "I feel like Trump wanted this to happen. Best opportunity to make his case and present proof to the public. And now he can go after all previous presidents!"
Brian Webb added on the app: "I'm still confident that the Patriots are in control. I'm still holding the line. Now that the impeachment trial is active it opens the door for evidence concerning the riots and they brought in voter fraud by accusing DJT of lying to us to get us radicalized. It's all going according to plan as far as I'm concerned. I don't think we are out of time yet."
The historic impeachment trial is seen by the conspiracy theorists as another necessary step toward the next significant date for the radical movement—March 4, when Trump will somehow be inaugurated as president again.
This latest ill-founded claim started appearing around the time of Biden's inauguration on January 20. It uses arcane reasoning with links to the sovereign citizen movement to suggest Trump will return to the White House next month.
Sovereign citizens, who believe they do not have to follow laws and whose extremist members are considered a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI, claim a law was passed in 1871 that secretly turned the U.S. into a corporation. The movement believes that every president after Ulysses S. Grant is illegitimate and Trump will become the 19th president—a claim taken up by QAnon.
They also claim the U.S. has been run by a group of shadowy investors since Franklin D. Roosevelt ended the gold standard in 1933—the same year that presidential inauguration ceremonies were moved from March 4 to January 20 in order to shorten the lame-duck period.
Before the start of Trump's impeachment, Debie Brisco wrote on Telegram: "God has planned all of this for many years. Got to love this president. Not much longer now. March 4 will be our victory dance. And I plan to dance in the freakin streets."
Phillip Welsh added: "Trump always seems to be losing ... just before he wins. We've seen it over and over again during the past four years. I absolutely KNOW he has a plan and it will be a pleasure to see unfold."
Not all supporters have faith in the March 4 date, however, after every other QAnon prediction has failed to come true.
"I'm tired of being told the storm is upon us or hold the line patriots. Wait, wait, wait. Nothing really legit has happened," wrote Kelli Degarmo. "I'm giving it until March 4th: if nothing happens might just go live off grid, I'm sick of these criminals getting away with their evil."
Telegram user Foxiana added: "I'll trust the plan till March 4th ... after that I'm out ... I'm not going to be one of those that waits years for the plan.
"I'll believe this plan when I start seeing action, not just words or goal posts moved, followed by excuses ... I'm almost done with all this hopium ... March 4th is my deadline."
