Rep. David Cicilline (D.-R.I.)–who later became one of the managers in the first impeachment of President Donald Trump–took to the House floor on Oct. 2, 2020 to express his support for a congressional resolution condemning the conspiracy-mongering group QAnon and debunking, among other things, the notion that Trump was “fighting a secret war against a Satanic, child-molesting network of politicians.”
“And QAnon is a cult,” said Cicilline. “In an effort to reach some of the people that have fallen under its control, I would point out a few facts.
“Mass shootings are not staged so that the government can come and take away your guns,” said Cicilline.
“John F. Kennedy, Jr., died more than 20 years ago in a tragic aircraft accident,” Cicilline said. “He is not in hiding, nor is he going to be President Trump’s running mate.
“And President Trump is not fighting a secret war against a Satanic, child-molesting network of politicians,” said Cicilline.
“It is a sad statement that discussing such obvious absurdities is occurring in this Chamber today, but the fact is, that some have praised QAnon and encouraged the growth of this cult, even as the FBI has labeled it a domestic terror threat,” he said.
Here is the full text of the floor speech Cicilline gave in the House about this on Oct. 2, 2020:
Rep. David Cicilline: “Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, one of the stages of deprogramming cult members is to point out the differences between the cult’s ideology and reality. And QAnon is a cult. In an effort to reach some of the people that have fallen under its control, I would point out a few facts.
“Mass shootings are not staged so that the government can come and take away your guns.
“John F. Kennedy, Jr., died more than 20 years ago in a tragic aircraft accident. He is not in hiding, nor is he going to be President Trump’s running mate.
“And President Trump is not fighting a secret war against a Satanic, child-molesting network of politicians.
“It is a sad statement that discussing such obvious absurdities is occurring in this Chamber today, but the fact is, that some have praised QAnon and encouraged the growth of this cult, even as the FBI has labeled it a domestic terror threat.
“And sadly, with the support of the White House, and even some Members of Congress, QAnon has moved from the darkest corners of the internet into the mainstream of today’s political discourse.
“This November, there will be 22 individuals on the ballot for the House and the Senate who have either been endorsed by or lent credence to QAnon. This is a threat to public safety and to our democracy as a whole. This movement needs to be condemned and its followers need to be brought back to reality, just as we would do with any other cult.
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Congressman Malinowski, for his leadership on this resolution, for the hard work he did to make certain that the condemnation of this dangerous cult is bipartisan. And I hope all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support this resolution so we can send a message clearly and strongly to the American people that this cult is dangerous for our public discourse, dangerous for our democracy, and dangerous for our communities.”