Followers of QAnon, the pro-Trump conspiracy theory, spent weeks anticipating that Wednesday would be the “Great Awakening” – a day, long predicted in QAnon’s prophecy, when top Democrats would be arrested for running a global network of sex trafficking and President Trump would serve a second term.
But when President Biden took office and Trump landed in Florida, with no massive arrests in sight, some believers struggled to harmonize falsehoods with possession on their TVs.
Some believers at QAnon tried to retrace their theories to accommodate a transfer of power to Mr. Biden. Several large QAnon groups discussed on Wednesday the possibility that they were wrong about Biden and that the new president was actually part of Trump’s effort to bring down the global cabal.
“The more I think about it, I think it’s very possible that Biden is the one who pulls the trigger,” said one I wrote on a QAnon channel in the Telegram messaging app.
Others expressed anger at QAnon influencers, who told believers to expect a dramatic culmination on Induction Day.
“Many YouTube journalists have lost a lot of credibility,” wrote a commentator in a QAnon chat room.
Still others tried to change the goal posts and simply told their colleagues “anons” to hold on and wait for unspecified future developments.
“Don’t worry about what will happen at 12pm,” wrote an influencer from QAnon. “See what happens after that.”
And some seemed to realize that they were deceived.
“It’s over,” wrote a participant in the QAnon chat room, shortly after Biden took office.
“Wake up,” wrote another. “We were deceived.”
Followers who expected the guidance of “Q”, the pseudonym user of the message board whose posts drive the movement, will certainly be disappointed. The account was silent for weeks and had not posted Wednesday.
Ron Watkins, a major QAnon promoter who some suspected was “Q” himself, posted a resignation note on his Telegram channel on Wednesday afternoon.
“We have a new president installed and it is our responsibility as citizens to respect the Constitution,” he wrote. “As we enter the next administration, remember all the friends and happy memories that we have made together in the past few years.”