Ron Watkins, one of the world’s most influential conspiracy theorists and QAnon promoters, has been spotted in Australia, with some evidence suggesting that he may be planning on making a permanent move.
Watkins is an American administrator of 8kun, a website home to conspiracy theorists and the far right. Under the alias Code Monkey, he also runs multiple social media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers that have run misinformation campaigns around events such as the 2020 United States presidential election and COVID-19.
Watkins is also widely believed to be one of the people behind Q, the anonymous account whose posts on 4chan, 8chan and 8kun websites launched the QAnon conspiracy theory. Multiple QAnon researchers and journalists have produced evidence that links Watkins to Q, including an inadvertent confession from Watkins himself in a documentary.
On Wednesday, host of the QAnon Anonymous podcast and researcher Julian Feeld tweeted that Watkins had been seen in Sydney late last month.
“Ron Watkins was in Sydney, Australia with the apparent intention to settle there on July 26th,” he tweeted.
Crikey spoke with Feeld and was provided evidence corroborating Watkins’ presence in Sydney that also suggests he may be looking to reside in Australia. Crikey has chosen not to publish this information to avoid revealing the identity of Feeld’s source, which would place them at risk of harassment and violence from Watkins’ supporters and QAnon believers.
Watkins did not respond to an email sent to the email account linked on his website.
Following Crikey‘s reporting, Ron’s father, Jim Watkins, confirmed that Ron was in Australia but said he didn’t think he was planning on “permanently” moving to Australia. Jim Watkins has also been identified as one of the people likely to have run the Q account.
“They’re putting Ron Watkin’s good name […] with a bunch of whacko stuff to try and smear him,” Watkins said.
Watkins’ presence in Australia raised eyebrows for a few reasons. The 8kun administrator was in the middle of contesting the Arizona GOP primaries when he was spotted (Watkins finished dead last in the field of seven last week).
Watkins didn’t post to his social media channels about being in Australia. Usually posting multiple times a day, Watkins was silent on July 26 but continued to post the next day to urge his followers to donate to his campaign.
“My fellow Americans, it is time for us to take control of our destiny and take back our country,” he wrote.
Much like other conspiracy and far-right influencers, Watkins has previously cast Australia as a dystopia due to its COVID-19 response. He posted dozens of times last year about Australia, spreading misinformation about lockdowns and vaccine mandates, as well as lamenting the lack of gun rights or “freedom of speech”. It’s not clear why Watkins, who has also lived in the Philippines, might choose to live in a country he seemingly despises.
Extremism researcher Dr Kaz Ross suggests Australia may be attractive as a landing spot for Watkins because of our place in the international far-right and conspiracy-theory ecosystem.
“We know that [far right and conspiracy groups] are internationally connected and we know that Australia is one of the major places for QAnon supporters,” she said.
Dr Ross pointed to visits by Lauren Southern, Gavin McInnes and Stefan Molyneux as examples of other international alt-right and far-right figures who’ve toured or lived in Australia. Alex McKinnon wrote about the phenomenon in Gawker, describing Australia as “the image-rehab facility of choice for professional bigots across the English-speaking world”.
If Watkins does in fact make Australia home, he could have a massive impact here if he chooses to turn his sights to Australian politics, Dr Ross warns.
“Someone like Ron Watkins, with his wealth, his technical abilities and his audience? He could pick and choose which Australian voices to elevate. He could give a lifeline to our dying anti-lockdown movement here,” she said.
Whether or not Watkins moves here, Dr Ross questioned how Watkins was able to obtain a visa to travel to Australia.
The Department of Home Affairs did not immediately respond to Crikey regarding Watkin’s visa application.
Update: This story has been updated to include comment from Ron Watkin’s father, Jim.
Surely someone like this is a threat to our democracy and would never be granted a permanent visa, let alone a visitor visa?
That said, the internet generally knows no borders.
I have no problems with free speech – but lies damage a democracy. As another contributor has said – when is our ‘truth teller’ ASSANGE going to be repatriated back home, rather than being harassed for his honesty?
The previous government would have given this nut a visa.
Your witless inability to recognise the thudding incongruity of your rejection of the State’s persecution of Assange, and your apparent desire for the same treatment for Watkins, is one of the more poignant hilarities of our times. You really can’t recognise yourselves, can you. You’re Assange’s persecutors, y’thickies. You. You.
At least JH is speaking with conviction, ‘Hector Cat’ and ‘Maxymouse’. Authentically speaking freely IS scary.
That’s why neither of you are. Kudos to John H, though Watkins is still ten times the liberal democrat any of you lot are. Including, for that matter, Cam’s (amusingly, self-importantly) ‘brave, anonymous source’.
Chortle. Too, too funny. What, your fearless deep throat is scared Watkins’s uber-crack squad of shadowy international assassins will launch armageddon on him, is s/he/they, Cam?! Quick, get Home Affairs onto a witness protection program for the poor little petal!
Woo, woo, faked moon landings, poisoned cuban cigars, satanic rituals, lizards, illuminati…keep calm, carry on and sally forth, O Bold Crikey Journalistas, troof-to-powering these nasty unhinged cultists safely into the ninth dimension, far beyond the Greater Firennian Time-Quadrant, nestled six trillion parsecs bacjwards in time to before the very Xergentic Galactic Phase Shift itself…woo woo scary old shadow world, deep State world, conspiracy works…chortle…
Knock it off, Crikey, or you’ll go blind :-).
There is plainly no point, and probably no possibility, in engaging with this rant, but it is at least worth saying that Assange is an Australian and a citizen, and the common aim of those criticizing his treatment is that he be returned to Australia and face any consequences here. As I read the article and comments here, the thrust is that Watkins should not be allowed here and should be sent away – to the USA where he is a citizen, if nowhere else will have him. So: send Assange home, send Ron Watkins home. Not a great deal of inconsistency there, in my opinion.
He would have been living at Kirribilli as an honoured guest.
Maybe he’s here on a skilled occupation visa? Australia could well be short of high-achieving trouble-making fantasy conspiracy creators. This could really raise the national profile.
The erstwhile amerikan activist Lauren Southern is now an Australian citizen and was similarly traduced by the usual suspects on staff here.
Some of the milder abuse was “a far right racists blonde Valkyrie” thereby touching all the usual buttons – sexist, misogynist, tired tropes of the pearl clutching brigade.
oops, Southern was Canadian, not amerikan.
Yep, the moral blind spot is black holian in its gravitational pull. It just sucks in soft pap brains. Free speech for everyone except those who make me feel like maybe I’m not really such a smuggy-wuggy, touchy-feely, noble brave subversive courageous moral paragon etc etc after all. Because I might have to go to bat for the right of hateful ideas to be heard. And some fellow soft pap prog might call me a yucky name on Twitter, wah, wah.
Witless. Assange is still in jail for no conceivable crime, Rushdie has just been stabbed under pan-global diktat, and these imposters want to keep legitimising State raw power – American, Iranian, whatever – to on punishing people for their opinions. Witless.
Malcolm Roberts may be his sponsor.
Yep, lock up and torment Assange, but let creeps like this run free. Sigh.
The Nadesingalem family was also tortured in our name. An Australian-born child was held in custody for her first, second, third and fourth birthdays and was released just in time to celebrate her fifth birthday.
He’s probably bunking with fellow Qanon conspirator and friend of Scott Morrison – Tim Stewart. I wish we weren’t a rehab facility for these far right morons.
Will he find Morrison or will Morrison find him first.
Why do right wing nutters gravitate to wearing cowboy hats?