QAnon leader returns with first post in more than a year

The leader of the conspiracy theory movement QAnon published his first post in more than a year. 

The New York Times reported that the movement’s leader, referred to as Q, posted a message Friday on the message board 8kun.

“Shall we play the game again?” read the post, which quickly made the rounds on other social media platforms.

One user on 8kun commented under Q’s post asking why he had been gone for so long. Q replied that “it had to be done this way,” according to the Times. 

“Are you ready to serve your country again?” The leader asked users in another post. “Remember your oath.”

Ron Watkins, a computer programmer and a former administrator of 8kun, is believed by many to be the man behind Q. An HBO documentary and two forensic analyses showed similar writing styles between the two individuals.

Watkins, who is currently running for a seat in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, has repeatedly denied claims that he is the QAnon leader.

QAnon has stoked a series of conspiracy theories and played a pivotal role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, where pro-Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop the certification of President Biden’s 2020 election victory. 

Q’s return comes amid a series of public hearings being held by the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, seeking to place former President Trump at the center of efforts to overturn the election.

The Capitol insurrection resulted in the deaths of five people. 

The posts also came on the same day that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, an outcome long desired by the conservative legal movement.