With one week to go until the next significant date in the QAnon calendar, supporters of the radical movement are waiting for March 4 with a mix of exhilaration, cautious optimism and even straight-up denial.
The conspiracy theorists see Thursday, March 4, as yet another "last throw of the dice," believing that Donald Trump will somehow be inaugurated as president again on that day.
The date has been widely discussed online by QAnon supporters since President Joe Biden took office on January 20. They believed that Trump would arrive at the inauguration ceremony and carry out the long-awaited "storm," ordering mass arrests and executions of satanic pedophiles and "deep state" figures working against him.
When this failed to happen, many believers felt disillusioned and concluded that the almost religious-like movement they had been following for years was a lie.
For others, the lack of a "storm" was part of the plan all along. Without any apparent self-awareness, they shifted their focus to March 4.
These QAnon followers, lifting beliefs from the sovereign citizen movement, now think the U.S. was secretly turned into a corporation in 1871 and all other presidents after Ulysses S. Grant have been illegitimate. They claim Trump will become the 19th president when he is reinstated on March 4.
March 4 was the date of presidential inaugurations until the 20th Amendment was ratified in 1933, moving future ceremonies to January 20 to shorten the lame-duck period. The year 1933 is also when sovereign citizens believe the U.S. went bankrupt after the nation was taken off the gold standard.
The importance of the date for QAnon became apparent last month when it was reported that prices for a room at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. had been hiked to $1,331 for March 4, nearly triple the normal amount.
This week, QAnon supporters reacted with glee after the U.S. Marshals posted a tweet about Abraham Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 1861, believing this was a coded reference and a validation of their latest prophecy.
"Cannot wait until the inauguration March 4 first true president in years," one wrote in a popular QAnon channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
"God has planned all of this for many years. Got to love this president. Not much longer now. March 4 will be our victory dance," Debbie Briscoe added on the app.
Unlike in the run-up to January 20, however, many popular QAnon advocates are saying nothing will happen on March 4, possibly wary of a repeat of the disappointment and humiliation they felt at Biden's inauguration.
There is also a bigger spotlight on the movement in the wake of the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol, with thousands of National Guard troops remaining in Washington, D.C. until the middle of next month over fears there will be a repeat of the violence.
A post on the We The Media Telegram channel, which has more than 192,000 subscribers, states: "No one from this channel or any of the channels that we have come to engage with and respect are advertising anything related to an alleged March 4 event.
"The fake news media is pushing this narrative to launch their next false flag and blame it on the truth movement. We do not condone violence. We never have and we never will. If there are groups out there planning and advertising events on or around March 4 anywhere in the country (D.C. included) we strongly urge everyone to avoid them entirely."
Another post by the QAnon account Truth Hammer, which has more than 15,000 followers, adds: "All the irresponsible talk about March 4th is very likely another setup to target members of 'Q community' as extremist. Spread the word and do NOT go to any big events that day."
The President Trump Patriot News and Intel channel on Telegram channel also told its 34,000-plus subscribers: "Do not go to any event on March 4th—false flag risk, cancel all reservations, stay away from any government building do not go to any event on March 4th...instead let the only people going be members of BLM, antifa and other agitators who are too foolish to heed this warning."
Other QAnon supporters appeared to be skeptical about March 4, stating that they would leave the movement if yet another prediction is proved wrong.
"If y'all think this is how Trump will appear on the scene. You all will be extremely disappointed," Telegram user Dotty wrote. "Be extremely careful as this could be a setup to another January 6th all over again."
Real Jimbo wrote: "I'm saying if we don't hear anything by March 4, nothing is going to happen. That's me... if people want to still have hope they can. That's where I say I'm through watching nothing happen.
"Hope something happens before though," he added.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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