A QAnon supporter at a 2018 Republican campaign rally
Photo: Matt Rourke / dpa
Expectations for January 20 were high among the supporters of the conspiracy theory QAnon: Blackouts, mass arrests and violent riots for the inauguration of the new US president were mentioned in advance in some QAnon groups.
The fact that none of this happened caused some resignation.
While the ceremony was still going on, some of them wrote on alternative networks: "It's over", or: "That is the proof that Q is total bullshit" or: "Nothing damned happened."
Surprisingly, even Ron Watkins, one of the most important QAnon distributors, seemed to distance himself from the conspiracy myth: "We gave everything," he wrote to his around 120,000 followers in the messenger app Telegram.
"Now we have to be brave and get back to our lives as best we can." Ron Watkins is the son of the operator of 8kun, one of the major QAnon platforms.
In the forum, which Watkins himself is said to have run for a long time, the messages of the mysterious user named Q, to whom the movement owes its name, were found.
(Read more about 8kun here.)
Read more with Spiegel Plus
More perspectives, more understanding.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +
Icon: Check
SPIEGEL as a magazine
as an app, e-paper and on the e-reader
Icon: Check
All articles on SPIEGEL.de
Exclusive texts for SPIEGEL + readers
Icon: Check
Try one month for free
Cancel anytime online
A price
only € 19.99 per month
One month for € 0.00
Try now for 0.00 € Buy nowArrow to the right
Already have a digital subscription? Register here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed by one month at the current price of € 19.99.
You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account.
In order to use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.