This week marks 22 years since John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr.'s plane was pulled out of the Atlantic. The anniversary of the accident that killed him, his wife Carolyn, and his sister-in-law Lauren Bessette marks a grim milestone for the Kennedy family.
for somethat's rightHowever, true believers, the son of the 35th president of the United States not only survived the tragedy, but is about to make a dramatic return to public life.
A bizarre theory has emerged that the accident was just a ploy to fake his death and that he will resurface, perhaps as soon as next month, to join a reinstated president.Donald Trumpas its vice president.
A viral video even showed a middle-aged man some QAnon followers claim to bejfk jroneself.
The theory is false even by QAnon standards, which claims that Democrats and Hollywood celebrities are involved in a secret cannibalistic cult that Donald Trump is secretly fighting, a theory detailed in cryptic internet messages from a mysterious figure. prophetic known as Q. And while only a fraction seem to believe JFK Jr., experts say it's still detrimental to their relationships and their grasp of reality.
Will Sommer, author of the upcoming bookTrust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Transformed Americaand a longtime observer of conspiracy theory, estimates that about 20% of Q's supporters believe in a JFK Jr. revival, but those who do "believe it 100%."
“QAnon itself is obviously very dangerous. It's hard to say if people who believe in JFK Jr [conspiracy] are more dangerous than QAnon people who don't,” he said.The independent.
"Part of the problem, like any QAnon belief, is that it's so bizarre that it alienates people from their friends and family."
For more information, see:MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell gives exact date for Trump's return to the White House
But how did "John John", poignantly depicted saluting the coffin of his murdered father at the age of three, become caught up in such a bizarre fantasy?
The story goes that after Kennedy faked his death, he returned two decades later to help Trump drain the swamp. He supposedly first appeared as Q himself (or close to Q) with the "Q Drops" of cryptic information. Thus, he should have been out in 2019 to replace Mike Pence on the president's 2020 re-election ticket, or perhaps for the (supposedly intended) 2021 "reinstatement."13.8— although there is no mechanism to reinstate a former president), or perhaps the 2024 campaign.
The timeline changed with each milestone.
Meanwhile, Kennedy is said to have been in hiding, disguised as a middle-aged, fedora-wearing Pittsburgh financial services executive named Vincent Fusca.
JFK Jr began trending on Twitter after the comedy duothe good liarsspotted Beetle at the conservative CPAC conference in July in a video that went viral with 14,000 likes and 2,000 retweets.
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"Are you JFK Jr.? Yes or no? How did you survive the plane crash? Or was it fake? Blink twice if you're JFK Jr.", the duo asked him.
His target, who appeared to be under seven feet tall and was wearing a pro-Trump T-shirt that read: "We want you back, sir, we miss you, Mr. President," replied: "I don't know who you are." ", man, oh, it's filming, we have to go.
Mr. Käfer did not react immediately.the independentsinterview request. But it's unclear who the real Vincent Fusca is, as multiple Twitter accounts mention the name of the man, believed by some to be a reincarnation of JFK Jr.
A Twitter account @vincent_fuscawith 134,000 followers, he tweeted an eerie poem with lines like "Surrounded by the truth you watch them attack / Do they want freedom intact forever? ... Soon you will see the republic in which we emancipated.“
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another account,@Vincent__FuscaHe describes himself as a loving husband, father, patriot, and Trump supporter with an undying love for America.
Another is called "VINCENT FUSCA HAS OFFICIALLY RETURNED“. He hasn't tweeted in full since Joe Biden won the election in November, but he preaches his own resurrection: “My return was scheduled for 7/4/20, early date; VINCE FUSCA IS BACK - JFK JR IS RISING UP!"
The theory appears to have stemmed from an April 2018 Q crash, which resurfaces a pre-Q-era theory that JFK Jr.'s 1999 plane crash was orchestrated by the Clintons, ostensibly to prevent him from running for the seat in the New York Senate. . York was later conquered by Hillary Clinton.
fact checkersnouthad addressed this older strand of the conspiracy as it unfolded during the 2016 election, and in aTagesnachrichten of the New YorkerArticle to expose it.
NewsJournalist Joel Siegel wrote four days after Kennedy's death that two friends confirmed the "best kept" secrets of politics that he was seeking the job.
“The idea became moot when First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed interest in running, but the two friends said they hoped the assassinated president's son would eventually enter politics as a candidate,” the story says.
The second friend called Kennedy's interest 'very serious', adding: 'I think he was intrigued by the idea... In the end, would he have decided to go ahead? I don't know. But he was clearly thinking about it. He talked to a few people about it. So the Hillary thing ended very quickly.
write tothe daily beastSommer has followed the evolution of this pre-Q conspiracy to a Q conspiracy since it appeared on the 4 and 8Chan message boards in October 2017.
In the summer of that year, a new poster, simply labeled "R", later named Ranon, connected to the existing conspiracy that Kennedy faked his death, saying he did it to become Q so he could meet his friend Donald Trump. and help him become president. . .
The alleged proof: Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, the 19th anniversary of Kennedy's fatal plane crash.
Sommer says that for many QAnon believers, this theory is a step too far.
"There's a fun dynamic in QAnon, both with JFK Jr and other things, where they're like, 'Oh, I think the world's elites drink the blood of children and all, but 'WOAH JFK Jr, that's the crazy one.'" '.
"I find it so ridiculous that they're a little embarrassed when someone comes out and says I think the world's elites sometimes abuse their power to abuse children, it doesn't sound so crazy. If someone were to come out and say, 'I think JFK Jr. .was alive", yes, they would find it embarrassing.
Rolling StonewriterE.J. Dicksonpulled the strings further, noting that the idea gained popularity after George W. Bush's campaign aide became an investigative journalist.Liz Crokin, beforeChicago Tribune diesmiNational InquisitorIn 2018, he started tweeting and talking about the theory.
"Right after I tweeted this there was a hit piece written about me and I think this is so crazy so weird. I just tweeted a theory that wasn't even mine and I said this is interesting and the following is a hit song about me . , he scolded me... so it made me think, there's something to that," he said in a YouTube interview.
"The way Q talks about JFK Sr. in posts is with such love and passion that I think it's someone close to him. If JFK Jr. faked his death and was alive, I think it would make sense for it to be Q."
For more information, see:'It's haunted, it's scary': Son talks about his mother's descent into the dark world of QAnon
More evidence came in the form of an (unconfirmed) quote from Kennedy published in hisJorgeMagazine just a month before his death.
He said: "If my dear friend Donald Trump decided to sacrifice his fabulous billionaire lifestyle to become president, he would be an unstoppable force for ultimate justice that Democrats and Republicans alike would celebrate."
The two were friends, and the photo of them together used in the post was real, from a New York Knicks game in March 1999, three months before the June 1999 issue from which the quote was allegedly taken. The closest citation Poynter Institute PolitiFact fact checkers have found is from a story inMuere New York Postin November 2016 by Michael Berman, co-founder ofJorgeMagazine when Trump and Kennedy chatted at Mar-a-Lago.
“As is often the case with Kennedy at his events, there was soon talk of whether he could imagine running for president. Trying to divert the conversation with the president, Kennedy commented that the Trump mansion was much more glamorous than the Kennedy family mansion a few miles away. "I think you should ask Donald those questions," Kennedy said, according to Berman. "He would definitely have the most extravagant winter in the White House."
On July 16, 1999, Kennedy crashed the Piper Saratoga plane he was flying, with his wife and sister-in-law as passengers, into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard. Their bodies were found five days later. The recent tragedy of a seemingly tragic family has made headlines around the world.
For his alleged reappearance at a July 4, 2019 rally, some supporters used JFK Jr.
Others wore Trump JFK Jr. 2020 flags or used his photo on their T-shirts and chanted "He lives." Sommer says that fans cheer and interact with Beetle when they see him and ask if he really is JFK Jr.
“The whole thing about him is that he is very cryptic. Of course he knows what's going on, but he doesn't comment on it," says Sommer.
"He talks about Q and stuff like that. But if I want to talk about how people think you're JFK Jr., he doesn't."
Identify Mr. Background beeping at MAGA rallies and Republican Party events has become a popular sport for some QAnon devotees.
Therefore, he was seen at the Trump rally in Ohio on June 26 of this year.patriot takes, and before that he was seen at CPAC in July. He was also seen at CPAC two years ago.reddit post, “JFK Jr seen at CPAC…. Hillary's arrest should be imminent."
in FebruaryCPAC, stands behind former Housing Secretary Ben Carson and gives a thumbs up as if to say, "Trust the plan."