Donald Trump's former Security Adviser Michael Flynn is in the news again after a video of him taking an oath on the fourth of July and ending it with the slogan of conspiracy theory QAnon, is going viral. Flynn chanting "Where we go one, we go all" known as WWG1WGA at the end of the video has raised questions again about his connection to the far-right conspiracy theory.
Flynn, a retired United States Army lieutenant general, served for 22 days as the 25th National Security Adviser. He had to step down after reports emerged of him misleading Vice President Mike Pence and top White House officials on his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the US.
Out of Position But Holding on to Power?
Flynn had previously denied the claims of him having any substantive conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey I Kislyak in 2017. However, once charges were levied against him, he stepped down and wrote in his resignation letter that he had held numerous calls with foreign officials during the transition. "Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador," Flynn had explained.
But Flynn, who has been ardently followed by the QAnon group, had claimed that he was a victim of deep state conspirators while addressing his conversations with Russian ambassador.
However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently dropped the case against Flynn despite him pleading guilty to the charges. "Communications between Kislyak and Flynn were untethered to, and unjustified by the FBI's counterintelligence investigation. Probe was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis," the DOJ said.
Too Many Coincidences With QAnon Reference
Flynn has showed his support to QAnon in such a way that netizens even started floating a theory that Flynn himself was the Q of QAnon. The QAnon is well known for starting its operations in 2017 claiming to have access to classified information involving administration and opposition. QAnon had also falsely accused a number of liberal Hollywood actors, Democratic politicians, and officials holding high rank of being involved in an international child sex trafficking ring.
The theories floated by QAnon are disseminated mainly by supporters of President Trump under the names The Storm and The Great Awakening. These are just theories and do not have any proof for their claims.
Actually, WWG1WGA is a slogan of QAnon. Apart from chanting the slogan, on one occasion, Flynn was seen signing the books with the slogan "Where we go one, we go all." In June, Flynn added the hashtag #TakeTheOath to his Twitter bio. The hashtag is mainly used by the QAnon.
Flynn also coined the term "Digital Soldiers." The term is only widely used by QAnon supporters, but they call themselves "Digital Soldiers."
In September 2019, Flynn was all set to take part in a fundraiser for his legal defense that was organized by a supporter of QAnon, Richard Granville. Flynn decided to pull out of the event after a report connecting the fundraiser with QAnon was published on the website Mother Jones.
QAnon supporters went a step ahead and added three star emojis to their Twitter handles, a reference to Flynn's status as a retired three-star general. Even when netizens claimed that Flynn was the Q in QAnon, he decided to keep quiet while his son Michael Flynn Jr openly asked QAnon believers to stop referring to Flynn as Q.
QAnon strongly supports Trump. In fact, the US president's son Eric Trump had posted a photo on his Instagram page in June ahead of Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The picture featured the QAnon imagery WWG1WGA. Flynn being an ardent supporter of Trump had even praised him in his resignation letter.
However, just like there is no proof for QAnon's conspiracy theories, the purpoprted incidents point to Flynn supporting QAnon, but there is no evidence to prove anything, yet.
