QAnoner Ron Watkins Begs Bitcoin to Fund Congress Race

[ad_1]

A month after the start of a lackluster campaign in Congress, former 8kun administrator Ron Watkins sent a warning to his subscribers on the Telegram messaging platform.

“I do NOT send direct messages to anyone asking people to buy crypto coins or gift cards,” Watkins wrote last week. “Please do not engage with accounts that claim to be me and ask you to purchase gift cards or cryptocurrency on their behalf. It is not me.”

At least someone was making money from the Watkins campaign. Although Watkins, a character linked to QAnon, does not have to file campaign finance reports until January, early indicators suggest that his congressional candidacy received disappointing support. Previously, Watkins had pledged to raise $ 1 million and topple incumbent Rep. Tom O’Halleran in Arizona’s Democratic-leaning 1st Congressional District. Instead, more than a month after launching his campaign, Watkins is making Telegram videos acknowledging “fundraising challenges” and trying a pivot towards Bitcoin fundraising.

“The mainstream media ran articles saying ‘Hey Ron, your campaign can’t make money! What are you doing?’ Watkins said in a front-facing cellphone video uploaded to his Telegram channel on Friday.

“Well, I want to get to that now and say yes, we’ve had funding issues, that’s right. A lot of platforms won’t work with us so we’re struggling to get things done. “

Watkins announced that he is working on a new Bitcoin donation model with a website that “you might or might not find, but if you find it it’s real and as things unfold. , we are going to build more and more steam and we are going to collect more money and the purpose of this is to prove to the enemies that we can collect money and we can earn that.

Watkins campaign manager Tony Teora told the Daily Beast that the campaign had raised a few thousand dollars since it stepped up its fundraising last week, but the campaign couldn’t offer firm numbers because it didn’t hadn’t opened all his mail yet.

Teora noted that Watkins had not fully committed to running in the 1st Congressional District and may change districts to avoid running against far-right representative Paul Gosar.

“Note: we are waiting for the end of the redistribution in Arizona because we may move to a new congressional district,” Teora said. “Ron is not running (and will not be running) against Paul Gosar, whom he holds in very high regard.”

While Watkins waits, he has asked Telegram subscribers to send him up to $ 2,900 in Bitcoin. This amount is legal for Congressional Races and Arizona Races, although other states have capped individual cryptocurrency donations at $ 100, based on a 2014 FEC ruling that gave the green light to campaigns to accept $ 100 in individualized Bitcoin donations.

Some of these rules stem from concerns about the traceability of cryptocurrency which, like cash, can be more difficult to follow than checks or credit card payments. The Watkins campaign home page is sparse on text and devotes the largest of its three paragraphs to informing supporters that “Federal law requires us to do our best” to gather information about donors who give. over $ 200.

Overthrowing O’Halleran’s siege poses a challenge even for mainstream Republicans. The outgoing Democrat raised more than $ 1 million in September, in a district that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. And Watkins is not a traditional candidate.

Until the end of 2020, Watkins was the administrator of 8kun (formerly 8chan), a troll forum owned by Watkin’s father, Jim. 8kun was home to QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory that falsely accuses Donald Trump’s enemies of satanic pedophilia and cannibalism. The Watkins’ proximity to QAnon has led observers to speculate that they were involved in the authorship of the theory, with a recent HBO documentary appearing to show Ron Watkins describing himself as “Q”, the author of the conspiracy theory. Watkins has denied these allegations.

Watkins’ foray into electoral politics represents an attempt to part ways with these associations, but, as the Daily Beast previously reported, he struggled to say goodbye to the group, recently winning a speech at a conference hosted by people called “QAnon John” and “Q Queen Army.” Watkins also remained deeply embroiled in the conspiracy world and was implicated in the publication of leaked voting machine data which, despite the insistence of Trump fans, showed no malfeasance in the 2020 election.

Just three days before Watkins announced his cryptocurrency hub, he spoke out against cryptocurrency scammers on Telegram, warning fans to ignore imposters masquerading as him to sell or solicit cryptocurrency. and gift cards.

Cryptocurrency scams are common on Telegram, with impersonation channels masquerading as celebrities (living and deceased) to hype NFTs or advocate for Bitcoin donations to gullible fans . One of Watkins’ supporters responded that he had been the victim of similar Telegram scams masquerading as Tory activist Scott Pressler and fringe Arizona lawmaker Wendy Rogers.

Some Watkins followers have claimed to have fallen for the scam. “Damn, I bought you a gift card,” one wrote.

“I fell for it,” said another. “I got most of my money back, but I think it’s a scam. Don’t buy.

Hours before warning the crooks, Watkins had, perhaps inadvertently, plunged into what would soon become the biggest fight to the right of QAnon.

“Lin Wood is a God-fearing Christian and has always been sincere and helpful in all my interactions with him,” Watkins wrote of Wood, a QAnon-hyping lawyer involved in the efforts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election. don’t understand why he’s being attacked, but the allegations certainly seem irrelevant and don’t reflect the Lin Wood I know.

Days later, Wood, who was trying to fend off the far-right attacks he had betrayed, Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, leaked unflattering phone tapes of his former allies, including a recording of the Former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne accusing a colleague of defrauding money, and a recording of Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn denouncing QAnon as a “disinformation campaign” led by the CIA.

On Tuesday night, Teora suggested that Watkins’ stance on Wood remain unchanged. “Regarding Ron’s position on Lin Wood, his previous comments are justified,” Teora wrote.

[ad_2]