The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution last week condemning the QAnon conspiracy theory, including for its affiliation with anti-Semitism.
The resolution, which “condemns QAnon and rejects the conspiracy theories it promotes,” passed on Friday with 371 votes in favor, 18 against and one voting present.
Seventeen votes against it were lodged by Republicans, along with Libertarian Rep. Justin Amash, while Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) voted present.
The measure’s preamble states that “many QAnon followers express anti-Semitic views, and the Anti-Defamation League has said that the movement’s central conspiracy theory includes anti-Semitic elements,” and that “conspiracy theories have been a central driver of anti-Semitism for centuries, and QAnon conspiracy theories are fanning the flames as anti-Semitism is on the rise in the United States and around the world.”
The resolution further “condemns all other groups and ideologies, from the far left to the far right, that contribute to the spread of unfounded conspiracy theories and that encourage Americans to destroy public and private property and attack law-enforcement officers.”
The measure encourages the FBI and other federal law-enforcement and homeland security agencies “to continue to strengthen their focus on preventing violence, threats, harassment and other criminal activity by extremists motivated by fringe political conspiracy theories.”
It also “encourages the intelligence community to uncover any foreign support, assistance or online amplification QAnon receives, as well as any QAnon affiliations, coordination and contacts with foreign extremist organizations or groups espousing violence; and urges all Americans, regardless of our beliefs or partisan affiliation, to seek information from authoritative sources and to engage in political debate from a common factual foundation.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congressional candidate who touts the ideology, won her run-off in Georgia on Aug. 11 and recently got a shout-out by none other than U.S. President Donald Trump, who congratulated her, even calling her a “future Republican star.” He has declined to denounce QAnon.
QAnon began in October 2017 with an anonymous user named “Q” on the imageboard website 4chan who claimed to have classified information on the Trump administration and its critics. It is described as a conspiratorial movement that purports that the so-called liberal elite, including Democratic politicians and Jewish billionaire George Soros, are part of a secret political faction to overthrow Trump.
