“Why do you publicly support QAnon,” two people who called during the mayor’s monthly “Coffee with the Mayor” community radio broadcast during the monthly broadcast of access to the community asked.
“What does the Punisher symbol mean to you?” asked another interlocutor referring to the antihero icon of the comic that QAnon fans have adopted. “Are you concerned that the publicity received as a result of your stance on QAnon will harm our reputation?”
Mayor William Armacost answered every question on his radio show calmly, patiently and with little apology for his growing attention on the Internet as mayor who described the conspiracy theory as a “true movement”.
“I have never publicly stated that I am a supporter of it,” Armacost said in reference to QAnon. “I’m an information seeker. I should have kept my personal feelings to myself. I’m here to talk about our beautiful little town of Sequim.”
But a large number of Sequim residents have organized a petition to reinstate the city manager, who resigned earlier this month. They call the mayor a dangerous threat after several alleged QAnon followers were arrested for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol uprising.
“The people who led the Capitol uprising were Q leaders,” said Shenna Younger, a Sequim resident who leads the Sequim Governing League, a grassroots movement that hopes to oust the mayor. “This is not just a conspiracy theory. This is serious.”
“QAnon is a real move”
Sequim City Council focuses on a salaried city manager who serves as executive director. This means that Armacost does not have the power assigned to most U.S. mayors.
Most Sequim residents barely paid attention to Armacost until last August, when it issued an impressive statement during “Coffee with the Mayor.”
Asked about QAnon, the mayor replied, “QAnon is a movement of truth that encourages you to think for yourself. If you remove Q from this equation, they are patriots around the world who are fighting for humanity, the truth, the freedom and save children and others from human trafficking. “
Armacost then encouraged his listeners to watch a QAnon video full of conspiracy theories about a cult cabal of Satan, a child sex trafficking group formed as part of a “deep state” that sought to annihilate Donald Trump.
The video echoes the unfounded claims promoted by QAnon. From its inception, QAnon went from the darkest corners of the Internet as a single conspiracy theory to baseless theories about elections, global financial systems, and human trafficking.
Earlier this month, the city council approved Bush’s sudden resignation following a surprise Armacost motion. The resignation of the popular city manager alarmed Sequin residents who believe the public clash over QAnon sparked Bush’s departure.
Bush told CNN he would not comment on his departure.
On Thursday’s “Coffee with the Mayor” show, residents like Karen Hogan called to ask for an explanation.
“We have philosophical differences between the city council and the city manager,” Armacost said.
“What differences are there?” Hogan fired back at the call.
“I’m not free to reveal them,” Armacost said. “We have big differences and we’ll let it go.”
Then two interlocutors from the mayor’s broadcast asked, “Why do you publicly support QAnon?”
“I have never publicly stated that I am a supporter of it,” Armacost said. “I’m an information seeker and should have saved personal feelings for me.”
Residents who formed the Sequim Governance League are vying for the mayor’s defense.
Opponents of Armacost point to the mayor’s personal Facebook page, where Armacost has shared several misinformation posts and the phrase “WWG1WGA,” a rallying cry that QAnon supporters have adopted, meaning: “Where are we going? , let’s all go “.
They also say that this year the mayor has worn a lapel to the city council’s virtual meetings. The pin, clearly visible at recorded city council meetings, is a skull that matches the Punisher symbol favored by QAnon believers. The mayor says the pin is in support of law enforcement.
Younger says 500 people have joined the Sequim Governance League in just two weeks. They fear that the departure of the city manager will indicate that the mayor may further influence the city.
“People are awake now,” Younger said. “They want to participate and they want to participate.”
Rick Perdue, who recently moved to Sequim from the east coast, said he was surprised to learn about the mayor of his new city, which he described as moderate and welcoming.
“I didn’t think we would have that kind of hut. It should represent the values of the community, not its crazy QAnon right-wing conspiracy stuff,” Perdue said.
Perdue points out that Sequim is in Clallam County, a county that elected the winning president in every election since 1980. The county, according to Perdue, represents the country’s political sentiment, which is why it is alarmed by the words of the ‘mayor.
“There are a lot of people who believe that,” Perdue said. “Look at what’s going on in Congress now. We’re certainly not unique in having high-level people who follow QAnon’s conspiracy theory information.”
“I even read the fake news”
On Thursday, CNN approached Armacost off the radio station after its program. For 15 minutes, the mayor answered the questions calmly and politely.
When he re-quoted what he said earlier on his radio show, calling conspiracy theory a “truth movement,” Armacost said, “What I call is the opportunity to seek the truth as a patriot. and as an American citizen. This is done through analysis and research. People have to decide to do their homework. “
The mayor regretted telling residents to view the QAnon video, but did not acknowledge the extravagant content of the video. Without asking, the mayor diverted the conversation to human trafficking. One of the conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon is that members of a “deep state” are engaged in trafficking.
“I think if you take the time to do the research, there are a lot of parallels you can read that have historically been in the books of things that have happened,” Armacost said. “Human trafficking is one of them. We have had a great opportunity to look for more people in danger and rescue them and try to get back to a normal life.”
When asked if he was a follower of QAnon, the mayor said, “They entertain all the resources. I’ve even read the fake news, even to see if there’s a fabric, a thread of fabric that contains truth. “.
Armacost says it could never support the demolition of a building like the U.S. Capitol or try to harm or disturb a public official. But he wondered if QAnon’s beliefs fueled some of the Capitol insurgents, even though the video showed Jan. 6 rebels wearing Q T-shirts and wearing Q signs while violating the Capitol.
“I’ve seen a lot of videos of what appear to be scenarios versus what has continued to run. I have no way of confirming that that was one group against another,” Armacost said. “Just because the camera angle showed this view, I may not have shown another angle that shows a completely different scenario. I’m not denouncing it, but I’m not compromising that this frame I saw in a clip is true versus no they showed all the information “.
Ultimately, the mayor says what he believes is private has no impact on his partisan work as mayor of Sequim.
On whether he would report QAnon worried, Sequim residents have asked him to do so, the mayor said: “I’m not supporting it. I’m not in a position … I’m a small man running a small business in a small town. I also don’t have the authority to denounce or promote. “
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Sequim residents have organized a petition to evict Mayor William Armacost. They have organized a petition to reinstate the city manager.