Trump’s shooting fuels QAnon believers

Ever since its first “Q drop” in 2017, predicting Hillary Clinton’s impending arrest, QAnon has made predictions about certain upcoming events. When these events don’t come to pass, believers concoct some elaborate explanation for why the predictions didn’t come true and move on to the next event, with many even more loyalists—a classic model among those who believe in prophecy.

Before Trump’s shooting, QAnon promoter Phil Godlewski predicted on his Rumble show to his 200,000 followers that there would be a “fear-mongering event” or “a 9/11-style event” in the coming weeks. When Trump was shot, many of Godlewski’s followers were quick to claim that his prediction had come true.

“My friend Q would call me and tell me that if this happened, don’t be afraid, because it was all part of the Plan,” said Jay, who asked to be identified only by his first name to protect his privacy. “When the shooting happened, my friend quickly called me to tell me that ‘it’ had happened, the scary event. He told me that it was all staged, don’t be afraid, and that I should trust that Phil was right, that his sources were accurate.”

Jay said his friend continued to insist that a global financial reset would come next, before Trump is re-elected in November. “Phil has made a lot of other vague predictions that have not come true, but since this vague prediction has come true, my friend Q is doubling down,” Jay said.

In at least one case, the shooting appears to have convinced a former QAnon follower to embrace the conspiracy theory again.

Amy, who asked to use only her first name to protect her privacy, said she has known her friend Jane since they met in college 20 years ago. During Trump’s first term in office, Jane began posting positive messages about the former president on Facebook, and as the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Jane delved deeper into QAnon conspiracy theories.

“Her posts became wild and uncontrolled,” Amy told WIRED. “Speculation about deep state-style conspiracies. She hated Democrats, Joe Biden, and the Clintons for huge, uncontrolled reasons.”

In recent years, Jane had stopped posting conspiracy theories about Trump and the deep state, instead sharing photos and letters about her pets. Then the shooting happened.

“She posts uncontrollably every hour,” Amy said, describing Jane’s social media content. “She is completely and openly pro-Trump. She blames the shooting on a liberal wearing a far-right shirt. She definitely believes that Joe Biden or the Democrats orchestrated it.”

Katrina Vaillancourt, a former QAnon follower, wrote a book Speaking about her experience, she said if she were still haunted by the magic, she thinks she would have acted more aggressively after Trump’s shooting.

“I believe this was a desperate attack by evil forces, using the tentacles of the deep state, including members of the FBI and Secret Service, and the fact that Trump survived this is the closest we have to evidence that God is on Trump’s side,” Vaillancourt told WIRED. “I will be online ‘researching’ at least four hours a day, and up to 10 hours a day if something really bothers me, like this incident.”