The FBI thinks that QAnon believers could become violent again since some of the group’s conspiracy theories haven’t panned out.
The theory posits that Donald Trump would be reinstated as president, that the Democrats who are involved in child-trafficking rings would be arrested, and more, Reutersreports. These adherents were integral to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
In a warning to Congress, the FBI wrote in a bulletin that some followers—who the agency has labeled as domestic violent extremists—think they “can no longer ‘trust the plan.’”
“We assess that some DVE adherents of QAnon likely will begin to believe they can no longer ‘trust the plan’ referenced in QAnon posts and that they have an obligation to change from serving as ‘digital soldiers’ towards engaging in real world violence—including harming perceived members of the ‘cabal’ such as Democrats and other political opposition—instead of continually awaiting Q’s promised actions which have not occurred,” the FBI said, per ABC News.
The FBI thinks believers will detach from the group due to the new administration, the eradication of Q accounts and groups from dominant social media platforms, and “the failure of long-promised QAnon-linked events to materialize,” the FBI said.
“Some DVEs have discussed how to radicalize new users to niche social media platforms following QAnon adherents’ migration to these platforms after large scale removals of QAnon content from mainstream sites,” the FBI bulletin said.
The FBI apprehended 20 self-identified QAnon followers who were present at the Capitol riot, as well as a number of alleged Q believers from across the U.S.
