A Q by Any Other Name...

Q, the anonymous figure at the center of the Q-Anon conspiracy theory–whose members will be represented in Congress come January–has reportedly gone quiet. This radio silence isn't entirely surprising given that Q predicted a massive Trump victory that did not come to pass. The Daily Beast also notes that "this silence isn't Q's longest; the person went silent for a month in 2019." 

The conspiracy theory specifically around Q's posts–which poses a national security threat–may lose steam as a result of the one-two punch of Trump's defeat and Q's long absence. However, the threat posed by the Q-Anon conspiracy should not be considered to have abated if the conspiracy no longer revolves around Q. After all, few beliefs within the schematic network of the Q supporter are original to Q-Anon. 

Most notably, the belief that there is pervasive child trafficking among prominent "elites" (Q "code" for celebrities and high-ranking Democrats) goes back to the 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy, which resulted in a shooting at D.C.'s Comet Ping-Pong. Conspiracist suspicions of child trafficking (obviously a real and tragic phenomenon; conspiracist beliefs are erroneous with regard to its location and prevalence, not its existence) reared their ugly head again during the Wayfair conspiracy of 2020. Finally, an emerging belief within the Q-Anon network is that prominent celebrities traffic children in order to access a compound in their blood known as adrenochrome; this belief is also unlikely to abate in the absence of Q. 

Simply put, it is important that those studying Q-Anon not focus too narrowly on Q themselves (the Soufan Center has arguably done a good job of this). Given that Q could disappear permanently at any time–and with it, its attendant gatherings of supporters, both online and in-person–quelling the Q-related security threat requires taking the focus off of Q and placing it back where it belongs–on understanding and interrogating the full complement of its supporters' beliefs and their willingness to act on them.