A Quarter of Republicans Hold Favorable Views of QAnon Supporters: Poll
About a quarter of Republicans hold favorable views of QAnon supporters, according to new polling released on Thursday.
Believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory have previously been charged with assassination plots and kidnappings. Many of those connected to the January 6 insurrection against the U.S. Capitol were supporters or had been inspired by others who backed parts of the conspiracy. Adherents believe that former President Donald Trump is working to defend the U.S. against a ring of Satanic pedophiles—including Democratic politicians and other liberal elites—that sacrifice children in their bid to control the world.
While the vast majority of U.S. adults who identify or lean Republican view supporters of the baseless conspiracy theory negatively, a sizable minority have favorable views of QAnon supporters.
The new polling by Pew Research, which was conducted from March 1 to 7, showed that 70 percent of those who are Republican or lean Republican view supporters of QAnon unfavorably. However, roughly a quarter (24 percent) said they have a favorable view of QAnon supporters. Notably, 6 percent of Democrats viewed QAnon supporters favorably as well.
The survey results showed that about 23 percent of Republicans said they know "a lot" or "some" about the conspiracy theory. But 31 percent said they did not know much about QAnon and 39 percent said they don't know anything at all about it. Democrats were actually more likely than Republicans to say they know "a lot" or "some" about the theory (40 percent).
In October, less than a month before the November 3 election, Trump said he didn't know much about QAnon but spoke favorably of its supporters.
"I don't know anything about QAnon," the former president said during a town hall hosted by NBC News.
"Let me just tell you what I do hear about it is they are very strongly against pedophilia and I agree with that," Trump added after he was pressed further. "I do agree with that."
Back in 2019, an FBI intelligence bulletin from a field office in Arizona was reported by Yahoo News. That bulletin specifically warned against "conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists," mentioning QAnon. "The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge, spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts," the document warned.
Freshmen GOP Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado previously expressed a belief in QAnon, although they have since distanced themselves from the conspiracy theory.
"Q is a patriot, we know that for sure," Greene said in a video posted in 2017. "Q" refers to an anonymous government official leaking information online about Trump's alleged effort to overthrow the deep state.
In an interview last May, Boebert said she hoped Q and the QAnon conspiracy were true. "I hope that this is real. It only means America is getting stronger and better, and people are returning to conservative values, and that's what I am for," she said at the time.
