Pence to attend fundraiser hosted by QAnon fan who shared anti-Semitic posts

Vice President Mike Pence and top officials from US President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign are slated to attend a Montana fundraiser next week hosted by a couple who have expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, according to an event invitation obtained by The Associated Press and a review of social media postings.

The hosts of the fundraiser, Caryn and Michael Borland, have shared QAnon memes and retweeted posts from QAnon accounts, their social media activity shows. The baseless conspiracy theory posits that Trump is fighting entrenched enemies in the government and also involves satanism and child sex trafficking.

While many Republicans have dismissed QAnon, the fundraiser is another sign of how the conspiracy theory is gaining a foothold in the party. Trump has hailed Georgia congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene, another QAnon supporter, as a “future Republican star.” The president has refused to condemn QAnon, recently telling reporters that the conspiracy theory is “gaining in popularity” and that its supporters “like me very much.”

Michael Borland has also posted conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family being behind a “globalist” conspiracy to create a totalitarian world order, a classic anti-Semitic trope.

In 2017, he shared a post that alleged Jewish groups working to help migrants were part of a “global cabal.”

— with AP