In this Nov. 5, 2020 file photo, Jacob Anthony Chansley, who also goes by the name Jake Angeli, a QAnon believer, speaks to a crowd of President Donald Trump supporters outside of the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office where votes in the general election are being counted, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File)
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Ron Watkins, the man widely suspected of whipping up the QAnon conspiracy theory, informed the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday that he wanted to terminate his congressional campaign.
Watkins has said he is not the man behind QAnon. He ran as a Republican from Arizona and lost in the primary last in August. His committee remained active, although with no cash on hand as of Sept 30.
In addition to announcing its intent to shutting down on Tuesday, the campaign also amended its last three financial disclosures. Watkins signed all four of yesterday’s submissions as the campaign treasurer, even though his campaign’s latest statement of organization lists someone else in that role.
From the start, his campaign has been a sloppy operation. In its one year of existence, it received inquiries from the FEC about registering incorrectly, failing to originally disclose 40% of it contributions one quarter and providing incomplete information about its donors. The campaign revised its registration 10 times.
It also accumulated a small bitcoin portfolio, valued at $1,400. Watkins, who did not respond to a request for comment, bought out his campaign’s cryptocurrency holdings on August 1, one day before he finished last of the seven candidates vying for the GOP nomination in Arizona’s 2nd District. Watkins also forgave half of a $95,000 loan he made to his campaign.
Watkins forgave his campaign half of a $95,000 loan he’d made to it.
Federal Election Commission/Watkins for Congress