Who is Ben Gibson? Airman, QAnon follower and losing LA GOP candidate for Congress charged with child porn
Two men from Bossier City, Los Angeles, were arrested by the Louisiana Attorney General's Cyber Crime Unit on charges of possession of pornography involving minors as young as and under the age of 13. One of them was Ben Gibson, a Republican candidate who ran for U.S Representative for the 4th District of Congress this past November but was defeated. The 34-year-old Gibson was charged with four counts of possession of child porn involving juveniles under the age of 13 and one count of being a fugitive, according to a Bossier Now report. The arrest was made after a joint investigation was conducted by the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Bossier City Marshall’s Office.
Gibson was going against Rep Mike Johnson in the elections held on November 3, 2020. He placed fourth in a four-candidate Congressional race, gaining around 19,000 votes in the multi-parish voting, amounting to 6% of the total ballots cast. He came in last behind Democratic candidates Kenny Houston and Ryan Trundle, according to a Sun report. Apart from being a politician, he's also an active Airman at Barksdale Air Force Base. Gibson has time and again made references to QAnon on his Facebook page, using hashtags popular with the movement. He's also done the same on the account that he used during the campaign. According to BBC, QAnon is a "wide-ranging, unfounded conspiracy theory" that is under the impression that President Donald Trump is "waging" a war against "Satan-worshipping pedophiles in government, business, and the media."
After Gibson's arrest, Attorney General Jeff Landry tweeted, "We will CONTINUE doing ALL that we can to protect Louisiana children. #lalege #lagov" In a statement released on Thursday, Landry said, "My office is committed to using every tool we have to protect Louisiana’s children. We will continue to collaborate with our local, state, and federal partners to bring child predators to justice.” In addition to saying that Gibson was removed from his recruiting duties, Landry in a statement to WGNO added, “We hold our airmen to the highest standards and will be working with the Attorney General’s office and the Office of Special Investigation and local law enforcement during this investigation.”
We will CONTINUE doing ALL that we can to protect Louisiana children. #lalege #lagov https://t.co/LnWjrsTNsL
— AG Jeff Landry (@AGJeffLandry) December 10, 2020
30-year-old Jared Kutz was also arrested along with Gibson. Kutz was charged with two counts of pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13. Both of the men were released on bond. More arrests were made by the Louisiana Attorney General's Cyber Crime Unit. 38-year-old Andrew Parks of Bossier City was arrested and charged with 10 counts of pornography involving minors under 13. Later, Steven Green, 36, was arrested and charged with two counts of pornography involving minors under the age of 13 and one count of pornography involving minors over the age of 13.
After these arrests, Landry stated, "These types of egregious crimes against children, which inflict lifelong damage to their victims, must not be tolerated in Louisiana. My office and I will continue doing all we legally can to find and apprehend child predators.”