THREAD: QAnon was enabled in part by former military and intelligence professionals "gone wild." They lent credibility to the myth and laundered QAnon messaging to the public, sometimes via E-list "influencers." Here are some of the key personnel.
2/MICHAEL T. FLYNN is at the very center of the Q operation. As a US Army Lt. General and as former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, he has extensive knowledge of military/intel ops and the mechanics of insurgency. He also deeply resents his treatment by USG – a theme.
3/BILL BINNEY retired in protest from NSA in 2001 after spat with @GenMhayden. He collaborated with Putinphile Oliver Stone (A Good American; Snowden), and has appeared on many Q content channels re: child sex abuse, directed energy weapons; he is part of intj.org
4/ROBERT DAVID STEELE, retired CIA, has appeared on countless Q-influencer channels. He drove the Pizzagate story in 2016. Has ties to Iran-connected ops, and also Russia info channels. Part of intj.org. Reform party pres. candidate, 2012. robertdavidsteele.com/web-sites/
5/KIRK WIEBE, former NSA, is a colleague of Binney's. He was part of a pro-Russia group with Binney called VIPS. Has endorsed ITNJ activities. Appeared in a video with Binney and Oliver Stone's son Sean Stone, Sep 2020, on channel "Triangle of Paganism." facebook.com/triangleofpaga…
6/ED LOOMIS, another NSA colleague of Binney and Wiebe; also part of VIPS. He appeared in the Oliver Stone-produced film "A Good American" with Binney. agoodamerican.org/protagonists
7/LARRY C. JOHNSON is a former CIA + State Dept official, turned conspiracist; also part of VIPS. Signed Dec 2016 VIPS memo saying Russia was not behind the DNC hack; foundational to the Seth Rich lie. Believes Russia did not interfere in 2016. independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
8/RAY MCGOVERN is a retired CIA official who has been a longtime guest of Alex Jones on InfoWars; also on left channels like Democracy Now. In Jan 2017, he wrote an op-ed with Binney saying DNC emails weren’t hacked, but leaked. Vehemently pro-Assange. baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/…
9/MICHAEL SCHEUER founded and led the CIA's station responsible for tracking Osama Bin Laden from 1996-2004. He left after being outed for anonymously publishing "Imperial Hubris." Has called for assassination of Obama and other officials; promotes Q. non-intervention2.com/2019/12/07/tho…
10/RUSSELL BRUEMMER, former top lawyer at CIA + congressional affairs lead at FBI, formed cryptocurrency company Indeco with alleged QAnon/Shadowbox collaborator Trevor Fitzgibbon. May have used alias Hiro Tokumei. medium.com/indeco/indeco-… coindesk.com/bitcoin-lightn…
11/KEVIN SHIPP, former CIA, appears in the fabulist documentary “Out of Shadows” and in other Q media. Had initial doubts about QAnon, but then became more supportive. Long history of conflict with CIA. prnewswire.com/news-releases/…
12/STEVE PIECZENIK, former State Department official, was partners with Tom Clancy. He became a critic of US policy and has appeared many times on InfoWars. He says Bin Laden died in 2001; Steele cites him. Themes from Clancy pervade QAnon + predecessors. money.cnn.com/2017/06/16/med…
13/JACK POSOBIEC former US Navy intel, connected to Russia-linked actors such as Cassandra Fairbanks, Roger Stone, Jim Hoft, Flynn, and others. Became deeply interested in QAnon in Sep 2018 when he made a long video about it for OAN.
14/MICHAEL AQUINO, former US Army PSYOPs; founder, Temple of Set; founder, Church of Satan; author, "MindWar." Associate of Jim Watkins (8kun); associate of Sean Stone. Long-time critic of CIA. First officially recognized Satanic Chaplain of the US Army.
15/PAUL VALLELY, former US Army PSYOPs, claims QAnon is run by "The Army of Northern Virginia" (i.e. ex-intel people) who work with "white hats" to deliver intel through Q channels. Listen to him say this. spreaker.com/user/icrn/amer…
16/PFC PATRICK BERGY, US Army, appears in the documentary “Shadowgate,” by Millie Weaver. Bergy claims he worked at CENTCOM on a program called iPsy. His claims seem suspect, but nevertheless he uses his military status to burnish QAnon talking points. politifact.com/factchecks/202…
17/JOSHUA MACIAS, founder, Vets for Trump; founder, JTF MAGA. Macias visited Trump Tower in late 2016 to advocate for vets. He was arrested in Philadelphia disrupting the 2020 vote count. Released, he was jailed again after participating in Jan 6 events. washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01…
18/TOM MCINERNEY former USAF Lt. Gen., has appeared on multiple Q-promoting content channels including Ann Vandersteel and Michael Scheuer's podcast. He claims Democrats coordinated with the Chinese government to create COVID-19. politifact.com/article/2021/j…
19/And there are various collaborators within government. MTG, Boebert, Biggs, Gosar, Jordan, Gohmert, Nunes in Congress, at a minimum. Patel, Tata and possibly others who were at Pentagon and NSA. This BS film offers an overview of part of that network. amazon.com/Plot-Against-P…
20/Expect to hear more about these characters. If you know of others who should be included in this list, please send details. If you're a reporter and wish to dig into this network, please reach out; I have more info. DM's are open. This is a major counterintelligence failure.
21/Some may wonder why these folks went down this path. From research, the common theme we have found is that they are disaffected from the mainstream of their professional community. Alienation is often a cause of radicalization.
22/PRISCILLA ADAMS DUMONT is an employee at the US Army's Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. She was the #1 correspondent with 8kun's Jim Watkins, according to server logs examined by myself, @emmibevensee@maxzzze + others. More in this Bellingcat story. bellingcat.com/news/2021/01/0…
23/DAVID E. MARTIN appears in the Mikki Willis quack documentary film Plandemic II: INDOCTORNATION; Willis was at the Capitol on Jan 6th. Martin is not a former USG employee. But he is interest as part of this network; he is also part of ITNJ. davidmartin.world
24/And about ITNJ... The International Tribunal of Natural Justice is a bizarre organization led by Rhodesian "rock star" Sacha Stone and pushed Q themes of child trafficking, pandemic disinfo, 5G disinfo very early. Many in this network are affiliated. itnj.org
For those interested, other related Sacha Stone orgs include humanitad.org and newearthproject.org — both of which routinely spew various disinformation.
25/CASEY GRAY is a former CIA and Special Forces veteran affiliated with organizations called GoldCorp, Beyond SOF (Steve Brignoli), and Strategic Fitness LLC. Gray reportedly visited the Capitol on January 5th.
26/BRADLEY JOHNSON, ret. CIA, of "Americans for Intelligence Reform" promoting "Italygate" — the insane conspiracy theory that says... something something, Italy, voting machines, conspiracy.
27/Please note: these people are not the norm, and career Mil/IC/Gov professionals are, overwhelmingly, patriots who abhor this activity.
The defection of these people to dark causes is, in fact, evidence of their alienation from the mainstream of their profession.
28/There are also many other well-known people involved in promoting these messages who are ex-military: Jim Watkins (8kun/Q - Army, helicopter repair) and Steve Bannon (Trump - Navy), most notably. washingtonpost.com/technology/201…
29/MICHAEL JACO, who claims to be a former US Navy Seal, has a large YouTube following and has been pushing Q themes and disinfo. Here he can be heard discussing "spiritual defense against the Coronavirus" on the "Gnostic Warrior Podcast." backtracks.fm/discover/s/gno…
30/TERRY TURCHIE (ret. Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division; former head of CI program at Lawrence Livermore National Lab), is featured on this heavily Flynn-centric podcast talking about "the real insurrection in congress." sarahwestall.com/globalist-cont…
31/TERPSICHORE "TORE" MARAS-LINDEMAN served in the Navy less than a year, over 20 years ago; claims to have secret clearance, have worked for gov contractors. She was Sidney Powell's "secret witness" for claims of election fraud; ft. in Q "Shadowgate" doc. washingtonpost.com/investigations…
32/DAN BONGINO, ubiquitous right-wing media persona and alleged partner in defunct Mercer-backed social media network #Parler, formerly served in the US Secret Service. According to ABC News in 2013, he "turned on Obama." abcnews.go.com/Politics/secre…
33/RICH HIGGINS, US Army, served in multiple positions in the Trump administration, including the NSC. He penned a controversial memo on “Global Marxism” in 2017; background in Special Ops, military intel, strategic security.
34/This video, spotted by an astute reader, was found linked from a Telegram channel and features Gen. McInerney, Gen. Vallelly, Mike Lindell, Lin Wood and others promoting election and inauguration disinformation. There is a large supply of such media. rumble.com/vd1ltn-standin…
35/MAJ. JOE FLYNN, brother of Gen. Michael Flynn, ret. US Army Intelligence, has been pushing Q narratives for years, and recently collaborating with Sidney Powell on “restoring the republic” post-inauguration. Here’s a recent video.
36/CHARLES A. FLYNN, Lt. Gen. US Army, brother to Michael and Joe Flynn, was apparently involved in the delay in the decision to send troops to the Capitol on Jan. 6. The Army, puzzlingly, lied about that fact.
37/Early reports indicated that military veterans were over-represented in January 6 arrests; nearly 20%, ~3x the Census rate of 7%. What role did military message-bearers play in recruiting military/intel participants in the insurgency?
38/JOHN GUANDOLO is a former FBI agent who has been repeating false election fraud narratives. His group "Understanding the Threat" has been designated as and anti-Muslim hate group by @splcenter. splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018…
39/The photo of the Flynn dinner from the beginning of this thread is from this Schlafly event in St. Louis in September 2018, sponsored by Gateway Pundit. Look at this lineup, including Germany's AfD leader Bystron and Poland's Tarczyński! web.archive.org/web/2019032922…
40/And why was Flynn at this event? He was the inaugural recipient of their Maj. Gen. Jack Singlaub Award. Singlaub was a Jedburgh, helped found the OSS and CIA, and was later fired by Carter. This is the spirit animal for Flynn's set of grievances. phyllisschlafly.com/press-releases…
41/LT COL TONY "SPOOKY" SHAFFER, US Army ret., intelligence, recipient of Bronze Star, part of the Gateway/Schlafly network; promoting a wide variety of misinformation and disinformation narratives. See his Twitter. I decline to link to it.
42/DR. SCOTT MAGILL, (USMC, Army, et al) has been pushing coronavirus disinformation; he summoned “fellow Warriors and Friends” to the protest on behalf of his organization, Veterans in Defense of Liberty. “Our battle cry shall be, ‘We will not concede!'”exposedbycmd.org/2021/01/08/chr…
43/MAJ. GEN. JOHN K. "JACK" SINGLAUB, a founder of both US Army OSS + later CIA, using the Schlafly org "America's Future" to plead with Barr in Jan 2020 to "free Mike Flynn, drop the charges". Uh, excuse me?
44/THOMAS CALDWELL, former FBI and US Navy, is said by authorities to be part of the Oath Keepers; has held security clearance since 1979. He allegedly received instructions to "gas" members of congress and "seal them in" the tunnels. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/m…
45/THOMAS WEBSTER, former USMC and NYPD, attacked a Capitol Police officer with a metal pole, and then allegedly proceeded to gouge out the officer's eyes, according to images shared on social media. nytimes.com/2021/02/23/nyr…
46/BRIAN KOLFAGE, USAF ret. co-founded “We Build the Wall” with Bannon and Badolato and was indicted for fraud. He has also harassed people online extensively and drove “Stop the Steal” disinformation.
1/🚨 BREAKING: A State Department unit closed effective July 11 is now amplifying corporate messaging on behalf of X. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor posted this message yesterday. But the agency's website no longer exists.
2/The New York Times reported on July 11 that the bureau was closed. So why is it tweeting X corporate propaganda out to its 59.3K followers, which was also amplified by Elon Musk personally? nytimes.com/2025/07/11/us/…
3/The (former) website for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor no longer exists. Do defunct State Department accounts simply become Musk promo accounts by default now?
People across the spectrum have departed from reality, preferring the comforting embrace of 'vibes'. The level of fan fiction and unmoored speculation is unmatched. I've seen some things, and this is next level.
There is reality; there is what the government knows; there is what others know; and then there's "what the public believes." These are not the same, and the latter is completely unconstrained from fact — simply because it can be.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan warned about this a long time ago (Secrecy, 1998) and suggested a culture of government secrecy would breed speculation. But imagined public narratives now come first, and the government is then expected to corroborate them.
Anybody who expected there to be a lot of juicy dirt in FBI files has clearly never done a FOIA request. I’m up to about 1,300 now and I can say with some authority that the FBI has been mostly comatose on counterintelligence matters for ~50 years.
Idiots like Patel, Bongino, Bondi, Flynn et al spent years convincing the public that there were binders chock full of perp dirt. Instead it’s just binders full of women victims. I can only imagine the surprise neanderthal Patel experienced when he reviewed the documents…
and realized it was largely noise, pertaining to victims, or secondary to money laundering cases where JE acted as a confidential informant. Anyway, congrats, idiots: you staked your reputations by overselling bureau counterintel files. You deserve to go down as you rose to power — in a wave of public outrage. 👋🏻 🌊
Elon is the least important thing happening right now. Watch carefully as Russia shifts support away from Trump. His entire coalition is built on a foundation of RU astroturfing and information ops. Trump can not and will not survive that.
Put another way: if you believe Trump has benefited from Russian support, then it is only logical to consider the possibility that he will be greatly harmed by having them turn against him. And that’s happened.
And yes, many people don’t understand that Musk is fronting for a network of interests aligned with Russia. That’s okay; they will.
A thing I don't think people think about enough is that if the ROI on AI is less than 1:1, it won't be viable. Right now assumptions are being made based on the largess of VC investment. Will people be willing to pay what it actually costs, plus operating margin? Unclear.
This also elides the rights of creators; right now content is being stolen and repurposed wholesale and at scale. That cat may be out of the bag, but the 'industry' may not survive the resulting legal conflicts.
Don't mistake my financial skepticism as being anti-tech. The tech is interesting and useful within certain contexts, but people aren't thinking enough about the long term financial aspects nor about the very glaring and stubborn failure modes for which fixes are not imminent.