QAnon Followers Divided Over Marjorie Taylor Greene After She Denounces Conspiracy Movement
Some QAnon supporters are still backing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, even after she declared that she did not believe the "misinformation, lies, things that were not true" spread by the movement. Other followers, however, are questioning why she has denounced her base.
The Georgia congresswoman once again attempted to distance herself from the radical conspiracy theory while speaking on the House floor on Thursday, prior to a vote on removing her from two committee assignments.
Greene, who posted comments on Facebook about a "global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles" as far back as August 2017, said she "stumbled across" QAnon that year and began asking questions about it on social media.
"The problem with that is, though, is I was allowed to believe things that weren't true and I would ask questions about them and talk about them and that is absolutely what I regret," Greene said on Thursday.
"So later in 2018, when I started finding misinformation, lies, things that were not true in these QAnon posts, I stopped believing it."
Among Greene's incendiary social media posts are suggestions that the Parkland and Sandy Hook school massacres were fake and the 9/11 terror attacks were staged. She also liked a Facebook post calling for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get "a bullet to the head."
The motion to remove her from committees was passed by 230 votes to 199, with 11 Republican lawmakers supporting it. Some QAnon believers have now turned their fire on those GOP representatives.
On the Telegram encrypted messaging service favored by QAnon supporters, user Olive Oil wrote a message quoting one of the movement's slogans: "Just remember Where We Go One We Go ALL. We support you! You are not alone ... stand strong, stand proud and never back down and never let them see you sweat."
Deplorable67 wrote on Telegram: "Nooo!!! What a joke! They must be doing some really bad stuff we don't even know about for them to feel so threatened and taking such desperate actions to prevent from being caught."
"Bunch of crook traitors!" wrote Dorcas Rojas.
"It's so sickening that some of the Republicans voted against her," added another Telegram user named Joy.
Not everyone, however, was rallying behind Greene, who said she had decided to "choose another path" when asked about her beliefs in QAnon during her election campaign.
Travis Saizan wrote: "She folded like a cheap chair at the first sign of resistance. I'd rather have them expel me completely and go home with my head held high than give up my beliefs. But they were never hers, she just ran on the coattails of our movement. I will forget she was ever my countryman."
Leslie M added: "I hope you can explain why you turned your grassroots base against you. I championed you ... then you caved and turned on the truth."
Greene's history with QAnon is a catch-22 for the GOP. If the party fully denounces her, it risks losing the support of perhaps millions of people who have been radicalized by the conspiracy theory and voted for Donald Trump because of it.
If it does not, the party could alienate its moderate support and forever be linked to an extremist movement whose members are accused of storming the Capitol in an attempt to assassinate elected officials.
After the 11 Republicans voted to expel Greene, several QAnon supporters discussed the creation of a new political party—possibly headed by Trump—that they would join after being rejected by the GOP.
"We are losing a great senator today Marjorie Greene. She stood for the Constitution and the People of United States and was kicked out by the swamp. We the People need to take our country back," Abel Perales wrote on Telegram, adding that she would "come back with vengeance" in the new party.
"Time to leave the Republican Party; go Independent; send no money to the RNC, or Republican Senators," wrote another Telegram user, Debbie, after the vote. "Time to consider a Third Party since both Parties have failed us!!! Doomed now and will be in 2022 with these Rhinos [RINOs, or Republicans in name only]."
Lulu Murphy said: "She'll be great for the new Republic! With the majority of the bozos going to Gitmo hotel, she'll have a plum spot somewhere."
