Pence posts photo with law enforcement officer wearing patch associated with QAnon
Vice President Pence posted a photo of himself posing with several law enforcement officers, including one wearing a QAnon patch, in a since-deleted tweet on Friday.
Pence was posting about his visit to Florida. In one of the initially tweeted photos, an officer is seen prominently wearing a patch that appears to be associated with QAnon, a group that believes in a vague and far-reaching conspiracy theory about a “deep state” plot against President Trump and the existence of a vast pedophile ring among elites.
The tweet was later deleted and Pence tweeted another version hours later that did not include the original image showing the officer with the patch.
Grateful for the courageous members of law enforcement who helped with my visit to Florida this afternoon. Thank you for everything you do to help keep our communities SAFE. Great to meet you! pic.twitter.com/QgPJhfJOOx
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) November 30, 2018
Pence shares photo with law enforcement officer wearing patch associated with QAnon https://t.co/13uId97kPA pic.twitter.com/5Srtlj32rN
— The Hill (@thehill) November 30, 2018
Grateful for the courageous members of law enforcement who helped with my visit to Florida this afternoon. Thank you for everything you do to help keep our communities SAFE. Great to meet you! pic.twitter.com/Lh9Udk5fr2
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) December 1, 2018
The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the original image on Friday afternoon.{mosads}
The persona known as Q first posted on internet forum 4chan last year, claiming to be a high-ranking security official in the Trump administration. In the wake of that initial threat, subreddits have been created dedicated to the conspiracy as well as a Facebook group that boast thousands of members.
Q has pushed an unsubstantiated theory that Trump was persuaded to run for president by military leaders and that Trump and the officials are planning the arrests of “deep state” members involved in a pedophilia scheme in what Q and its followers call “The Storm.”
Reddit banned its QAnon page in September, citing “content that incites violence, disseminates personal information, or harasses will get users and communities banned from Reddit.”
Trump met with one of the leaders of QAnon, Lionel Lebron, in the Oval Office in August.
Updated at 7:28 p.m.
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