Watkins as seen on TV. OAN/YouTube
Ron Watkins, a Republican, stated in a video that he would run for Congress in Arizona.
Watkins is long believed to be behind the QAnon movement.
An email address associated to Watkins was used to file a statement of intent for running with the state authorities.
Ron Watkins is a former 8chan administrator who is widely rumored have planted the QAnon conspiracy theory. He has stated that he plans to run for a congressional seat here in Arizona.
Watkins posted a video on his Telegram channel Thursday saying that he decided to "double down" with God to fight the Washington DC swamp.
He said, "I am here in Arizona to formally announce my candidacy for Congress." "Under God’s authority, we will retake Congress, flip the Senate, and fix the presidency."
An email address linked to Watkins had previously filed a "statement in intent" with Arizona secretary of State to run for a congressional seat. Dylan Rosenblatt, a journalist at a local NPR affiliate, first reported the story.
The filing is an important step in running for public office. It comes before the candidate seeks to get the required number to be on the ballot.
Some critics, including Mike Rothschild, QAnon expert, dismissed the move.
A candidate can only run for office if they live in the state. NBC reported earlier this year that Watkins was living in Japan.
Arizona's first Congressional District is represented currently by Democrat Tom O'Halleran. He has been in office since 2016 and has since defeated two Republican challengers.
Watkins recently supported two Republican candidates in the state: former state attorney general Tom Horne is running for state superintendent and Kari lake, who was recently endorsed for the GOP gubernatorial candidacy for the state by Donald Trump.
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During Watkins' administration, the 8chan messaging platform became a prominent hub for conspiracy theorists as well as far-right extremists.
A series of messages, codenamed Q, from a person claiming to represent a top government official were posted on this site. They claimed that Trump was trying to destroy a secret cabal that was populated with child abusers.
Recent HBO documentary "Q: Into the Storm" suggests that Watkins was the true identity of Q. He denied making the claim.
Watkins, who quit his 8chan role last year, played a crucial role in inciting conspiracy theories about a massive plot to deny Donald Trump victory in the last year's presidential elections.
He supported the recent partisan audit of Arizona's Maricopa County votes, which concluded that Biden won, in line to the official result, which disappointed many Trump supporters.
Business Insider has the original article.
