Some of us or at least most of us have seen or heard of the Q rally signs seen at Trump rallies and pro Trump circles. This Q is also known as QAnon. Supposedly, Q is a high-level government official who is secretly waging a war against the deep state that is trying to overthrow Trump. And for some reason is saying it out loud in the open. Basically it’s pro Trump fan fiction believed to be real. That brings us to the question of what happens when someone who believes this (I call a QAnonist) holds a position in government that carries responsibilities for people’s safety and security.
Take for instance SWAT Sgt. Matt Patten. Patten was demoted because while he was working the security detail for Vice President Mike Pence, he was pictured with Pence wearing a QAnon patch on his uniform. As a result he was removed from the Office of Homeland Security and their SWAT team. He was reassigned to the Department of Law Enforcement. The Broward Sheriff’s office released the following statement:
“Being a highly political entity with a narrow one sided scope of positioning, public alignment and representation of such a group is in contrast with the core values of political neutrality within the Broward Sheriff’s Office,” ….. “Sergeant Patten’s actions of displaying unity with controversial group is not in alignment with the core values of law enforcement and the Broward Sheriff’s Office, [and] discredited the agency, the county, and himself.”
Clearly this is a violation anybody working in law enforcement can commit. All you have to do is literally wear a political badge on your uniform.
Now I’m not in favor of firing someone or demoting them because of what they believe. Someone can believe whatever they want so as long as it doesn’t affect how they conduct their job. But this is a whole different ball park. Besides being very political, this is someone in a very sensitive security position that makes decisions that affect the security of government officials. The badge basically said he is the loyalist resistance devoted to to Trump rather than the presidential office.
Imagine for a moment a terrorist attack of significant proportion happening under President Trump. Multiple security agencies have to exchange reliable information with one another. Security officials that sincerely cling on to the QAnon conspiracy theory will be briefed with information on who is attacking and what’s going on but might have a completely different interpretation of what’s happening. Instead of an Al Qaeda terrorist attack, it’s really a deep state coup in motion and the terrorist attack is a distraction.
Patten is certainly not the only one. There are probably hundreds or even thousands of QAnon sleeper cells in the government ready to bust some deep state heads they believe to exist. It’s one big cluster fuck ready to happen in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. That’s especially if they coordinate with one another in their 4chan message boards. Going rogue can only lead to disaster. Just ask Leroy Jenkins in World of Warcraft. What happens if President Trump commits a crime that results in his impeachment? Are the QAnon sleeper cells going to act with their weapons? They’ve believed for a long time a coup was imminent against Trump and this is the moment they’ve been waiting for. Depending on how devoted they are, this could result in a small civil war.
The QAnon phenomenon is not the only conspiracy driven movement that has people in charge of overseeing security. In 2009 an organization called The Oath Keepers emerged. The Oath Keepers are a organization of current and former military, police, and first responders who pledge the oath that all military and police take when sworn in to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” That’s all fine and dandy. Then it gets weird and disturbing with a list of orders they pledge not to obey.
1. We will NOT obey any order to disarm the American people
2. We will NOT obey any order to conduct warrantless searches of the American people, their homes, vehicles, papers, or effects – such as warrantless house-to house searches for weapons or persons.
3. We will NOT obey any order to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to trial by military tribunal.
4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state, or to enter with force into a state, without the express consent and invitation of that state’s legislature and governor.
5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty and declares the national government to be in violation of the compact by which that state entered the Union.
6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.
7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.
8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control” during any emergency, or under any other pretext. We will consider such use of foreign troops against our people to be an invasion and an act of war.
9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies, under any emergency pretext whatsoever.
10. We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.
I’m surprised taking an oath that they will not serve the secret elite pedophile ring is not listed. But that was way before QAnon and Pizzagate. Some of us have heard whole concentration camps narrative. It’s also known as the FEMA camps conspiracy theory. The Oath Keepers claims 30,000 members as of 2016. So that’s 30,000 first responders believing that martial law, concentration camps, and gun confiscation are imminent.
Of course we all know these paranoid folks are not just first responders. It’s also elected officials. In San Juan Capistrano California, councilwoman Pam Patterson read a QAnon post at a meeting with lawmakers.
“God bless America, God bless Q, and God bless San Juan Capistrano,”
QAnon is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s not the only conspiracy theory that can drive public policy with elected officials or appointed ones in government. But it is the one specific conspiracy theory today that involves first responders fighting invisible forces they believe to be real. And it’s all at the expense at undermining their oath to serve and protect their fellow citizens. All they’re doing is pursuing ghosts rather protecting Americans.
