WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Democrats in writing to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Principal Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Joseph Maher requesting a written assessment to Congress on the threat posed by QAnon, in the United States and abroad. The Senators also request information on the role of foreign influence operations in the inception and amplification of QAnon conspiracy theories.
“As the FBI has confirmed, QAnon poses a direct threat of violence. In congressional testimony on September 17, 2020, Director Wray described QAnon as a ‘complex set of conspiracy theories,’ noting ‘certainly we have had cases, properly predicated investigations involving violence where people have been motivated by some of those conspiracy theories.’ On October 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1154 condemning QAnon and rejecting the conspiracy theories it promotes. The resolution, which passed by a vote of 371-18, described multiple cases in which QAnon inspired acts of violence,” the Senators wrote.
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QAnon has been active in attacking America’s democratic institutions by disseminating false and dangerous conspiracy theories, including about the November 2020 presidential election.
In their letter, the senators note that, according to the FBI, the House of Representatives and multiple organizations and researchers, QAnon conspiracy theories have inspired acts of domestic extremism and violence and have contributed to hatred in the United States and overseas in an effort to undermine our democratic norms. Recent reports also indicate that foreign influence operations have contributed to the amplification of QAnon conspiracy theories resulting in dangerous misinformation campaigns. The senators request that this analysis on the threat posed by QAnon in the United States and abroad, as well as intelligence on the role of foreign influence actors in nurturing this threat be made public, with any classified matters provided separately to Congress.
Along with Duckworth, Durbin and Schumer, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
A full copy of the letter can be found here
