Laura’s mother, Patricia, was among the hundreds of QAnon followers who went to Dallas last November to see the prophesied resurrection of President John F. Kennedy. At the time, Laura wasn’t sure exactly why her mother was going, but she wasn’t particularly concerned, especially when her mom returned a few days later.
But then Patricia left for Dallas again the following week—and again a couple of weeks later. When she left again in the final weekend of November, Patricia said she was leaving for good.
“We just started to feel very helpless at that point and just very sad and backed into a corner because we had a big feeling that she was not coming back,” Laura told VICE News.
Months later, Patricia is still in Dallas and still under the influence of Michael Protzman, the antisemitic QAnon influencer who made the wild predictions about JFK’s resurrection. Many observers believed Protzman’s influence would wane after his predictions repeatedly failed to come true and the major announcements and revelations he promised never materialized. Instead, his group of followers are growing again. And Protzman’s predictions and actions are becoming ever more outlandish.
Besides claiming that JFK appeared in disguise as Trump at a rally last month, Protzman has begun to openly berate his followers, some of whom have reportedly drunk toxic chemicals from a communal bowl. Most recently Protzman, who’s known to his followers as Negative48, claimed that 17 dead celebrities are now taking part in the group’s online chats.
While many people, including some within the QAnon community, have dismissed Protzman as a freak show and something to be ridiculed, his ability to control and coerce people into abandoning their lives to follow him has destroyed families.
Hellbound and Down 