But these days, what really grabs Ms. Putnam’s attention is talk of a satanic criminal conspiracy hatched by a cabal of “deep state” child molesters who are seeking to take down President Trump. “The large majority of people, they understand about QAnon,” Ms. Putnam, the Republican chairwoman of this small Georgia city, said in a recent interview. “Those that don’t know,” she added, “they have not looked into really what it’s about.”Across the country, Republicans like Ms. Putnam — longstanding party members who could hardly be described as fringe radicals — are embracing QAnon. The followers of this online phenomenon believe that the Democratic establishment and much of the Republican elite are deeply corrupt, and that Mr. Trump was delivered to save America from both. Urged on by the president, whose espousal of conspiracy theories has only intensified in the waning weeks of his campaign, QAnon adherents are pushing such ideas into the conservative mainstream alongside more traditional issues like low taxes and limited government.

Source: New York Times October 19, 2020 19:45 UTC