Capitol on high alert: Trump's DC hotel room rates go up, fueling QAnon theories he will be President on March 4
The US Capitol is once again on high alert with almost 5,000 National Guard troops called to remain in the nation's capital until at least March 12 as another bizarre QAnon conspiracy gains traction. The theory claims that former President Donald Trump will once again be declared the President of the country on March 4, a date that holds significance according to the conspiracy.
The request for 4,900 National Guard troops to continue their deployments in Washington until March 12 was made by US Capitol Police, according to Robert Salesses, a Pentagon official.
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Salesses said, "We work very closely with the FBI, Secret Service, and others and the Capitol Police to try to determine what they believe that threat is, and then looking at what they believe is the need for the National Guard, or the types of mission sets that they need support from, we work very closely with them to try to determine what that is." He added, "Obviously, 4,900 is a very large number here on the Capitol."
The theory that Trump will return for a second term on March 4 began to gain traction in early- to mid-January, after some believers were disappointed that the January 6 insurrection did not lead to the results they wanted. The reason for March 4's significance is also based on other conspiracy theories among QAnon believers.
According to Vox, QAnon supporters believe that the US federal government secretly became a corporation under a law that passed in 1871 -- however, this law does not actually exist -- that allegedly renders every president inaugurated and every constitutional amendment passed since then to be illegitimate.
The theory then goes that Trump will return as the 19th legitimate president, the first since Ulysses S Grant. QAnon supporters believe that Trump will also make former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo his vice president. The reason March 4 holds significance is because it used to be the date of the Inauguration Day, which was changed to January 20 in 1933 through the 20th amendment, the same year that Franklin D Roosevelt ended the gold standard.
That connection holds significance to the conspiracy as well. QAnon supporters believe that by ending the gold standard, Roosevelt transferred the power of the country to a group of shadowy foreign investors who have since been controlling the US government. Moreover, while Trump was in office, he tried to bring back the gold standard.
Adding fuel to the fire, QAnon supporters also believe that the former president is sending a signal that he will be inaugurated again -- by hiking the rates of Trump's Washington hotel for March 4. Forbes reported that for the dates of March 3 and 4, the king deluxe room is selling for $1,331 per night, a 180% hike from its regular rate throughout March at $476 to $596 per night.
According to Jason Blazakis, a senior fellow at the Soufan Center, who spoke to Forbes, raising the room prices will be interpreted by QAnon believers that Trump supports the March 4 narrative, saying, "hey absolutely try to interpret the words and actions of President Trump very carefully.”