In the midst of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, believers of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory are convinced that the former president will be sworn back into office on March 4, 2021.

The group’s latest conspiracy theory emerged in the immediate aftermath of President Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20—a day that was supposed to mark the moment when Trump would eliminate the so-called “deep state” and expose an elite child-sex trafficking cabal. Instead, Biden was officially sworn in as the 46th president, leaving QAnon followers wondering why the military coup and dramatic scenes of revolution did not take place as prophesized.

Struggling to reconcile their worldview with the reality of Biden’s presidency, some QAnon adherents are entertaining the baseless belief that Trump will return to the White House next month. The new date is followers’ latest effort to keep the conspiracy theory alive in a movement known for constantly moving goal posts.

“Can’t wait for your return President Trump,” one believer wrote on a prominent QAnon Telegram channel. “Hold the line! March 4 can’t come soon enough.”

The March 4 conspiracy theory is rooted in the belief that an obscure act known as the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, which QAnon adherents believe transformed the U.S. into a corporation instead of a federal government. While there is no evidence for these claims—the conspiracy theory stems from a misinterpretation of the term “municipal corporation”—QAnon adherents claim that the 1871 act effectively means that laws passed after 1871 do not apply to U.S. citizens and that any president elected after 1871 has been illegitimate.

Some QAnon adherents believe that the United States will revert back to its original form as a federal government on March 4, when Trump will supposedly be sworn in as the 19th president of the United States. The reason Trump is being referred to as the 19th president is because Ulysses S. Grant, who served as the 18th president between 1869 and 1877 is viewed by some QAnon followers as the last legitimate president before the U.S. supposedly became a corporation.

The conspiracy theory has led to a variety of interpretations from QAnon adherents. Some pointed to the presence of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., as proof that Biden is not the legitimate president.

“The White House in reality is in a foreign land,” a QAnon adherent who claimed to have military sources said on Telegram. “Joe Biden is in a foreign land as a prisoner. He is locked in. There will be a new capital in the United States of America as a constitutional republic. This is where we are going people.”

As with much of the QAnon movement, the 1871 conspiracy theory was revived and repurposed from a previous conspiracy theory relating to the sovereign citizens movement, a group of Americans who viewed the government as illegitimate, and who thus believed they were free to ignore its statutes. And much like with QAnon, the FBI has designated the sovereign citizens as a domestic terrorist threat.

As March 4 approaches, the Trump International Hotel in D.C. hiked its prices for suite bookings close to that date. Some rooms are selling for $1,331 per night, up 180 percent from the standard rate in March, according to Forbes. This form of opportunistic marketing is another example of how Trump and his affiliates have leveraged QAnon.

For some QAnon adherents, March 4 represents a last stand for the movement—a chance to both vindicate and validate their longstanding beliefs. However, if March 4 turns into yet another uneventful day, some believers have vowed to take matters into their own hands.

“If Trump/military doesn’t do anything by March, we have to do something,” one QAnon adherent wrote on Telegram. “We cannot let this treason win over our country!”

This article was originally published at Right Wing Watch and is republished here by permission. 

Image via Shutterstock

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has repeatedly shown support for the execution of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, along with FBI agents, and several prominent Democrats including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Maxine Waters, according to a lengthy examination of her Facebook account by CNN’s K-File.

“In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said ‘a bullet to the head would be quicker’ to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the ‘deep state’ working against Trump,” CNN’s Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski report.

Greene is a freshman member of Congress who has shown support for the dangerous and debunked far right conspiracy theory known as QAnon. The New York Times calls Greene “an avowed QAnon supporter,” and describes the cult as “a sprawling set of internet conspiracy theories that allege, falsely, that the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who are plotting against Mr. Trump while operating a global child sex-trafficking ring.”

QAnon cultists “also believe that, in addition to molesting children, members of this group kill and eat their [child] victims in order to extract a life-extending chemical from their blood.”

Greene has also “suggested Pelosi could be executed for treason,” CNN notes.

“She’s a traitor to our country, she’s guilty of treason,” Greene said in a Facebook video. “She took an oath to protect American citizens and uphold our laws. And she gives aid and comfort to our enemies who illegally invade our land. That’s what treason is. And by our law representatives and senators can be kicked out and no longer serve in our government. And it’s, uh, it’s a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason.”

CNN adds that Greene did not push back against a Facebook commenter who asked, “Now do we get to hang them ?? Meaning H & O ???” They were referring to President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Stage is being set,” Greene responded. “Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off.”

In a separate video Greene said Speaker Pelosi will “suffer death or she’ll be in prison” for “treason,” and suggested Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was “just as guilty of treason as Nancy Pelosi.”

The word “treason” is used in the CNN report ten times.

Greene posted a strange response to CNN’s report via Twitter,

Fake News CNN is writing yet another hit piece on me focused on my time before running for political office.

I will never back down to the enemy of the American people and neither should you. pic.twitter.com/K3JuvqrDGS

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) January 26, 2021

Read the full report here.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) did not mince words on Wednesday when asked for his opinion of colleague Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

While appearing on CNN, host John Berman showed Crow a tweet Greene wrote this week in which she declared that “President Trump will remain in office” and that “Democrats must be held accountable for political violence inspired by their rhetoric.”

Crow did not hold back in his response.

“There are, unfortunately, a handful of members of congress — and Miss Taylor Greene is just one of them — who are morally bankrupt, they are depraved, and they’re frankly dangerous individuals,” he said.

Crow went on to say that House members are considering a wide range of options for dealing with lawmakers who were involved in potentially organizing last week’s deadly riots at the Capitol building, including expulsion.

“You know, we can’t let this stand,” he said. “Donald Trump is one thing, he’s shown us time and time again who he is, but he doesn’t do this without support… it’s because there are a few depraved individuals who give oxygen to these conspiracy theories and legitimatize it.”

Watch the video below.