#3027: Gene Ho

Eugene Ho was a campaign photographer for Donald Trump in 2016 who later has become a central figure in the propagation of QAnon-related conspiracy theories and related types of incoherent, paranoid wingnut nonsense. Part of the reason for his success is obviously his perceived access to Trump himself in virtue of being a campaign photographer (the perceivers in this case don’t assess such things in reasonable manners), and has led, for instance, to being a speaker at Michael Flynn & Clay Clark’s Reawaken America tour in 2021.  That same year, Ho tried his hand at politics himself by unsuccessfully running for mayor of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on an anti-vaccine, Christian nationalist platform. Ho is also the author of TRUMPography: How Biblical Principles Paved the Way to the American Presidency.

 

As mentioned, Ho is probably among the more widely recognized champions of QAnon conspiracy theories, and he has been something of a mainstay at QAnon events. He was for instance a speaker at Alysia & Brian Gamble’s “family-friendly” grassroots rally The Great Awakening, which gathered somewhat less than 100 pro-QAnon adherents at the National Mall in September 2021. At the event, Ho stressed to attendees that he believed that the Q movement “is all about blood” – which is about as coherent a summary as any – having in mind both the blood that QAnon adherents think elite Democratic pedophiles drink for its adrenochrome and the blood of Jesus Christ: “This whole thing of what we’re doing is all about blood. Q says constantly, ‘Check the bloodlines.’ We know they’ve been misusing blood with their adrenochrome and all of this stuff. But ultimately, what this is about, it’s about blood and it’s about blood from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Indeed, the Q movement is apparently about all sorts of things Ho has warm feelings for: “Q is about all of us together and all of us not being scared, because that’s what happened to us in America,” said Ho (one is excused for being a bit unsure whether Ho quite understands the word ‘about’), adding that “Q has wakened us up. Q has made us alive again and Q has taught us to think for ourselves” (no, it doesn’t seem to be the right word, especially for a group whose slogan is “where we go one, we go all”). Unfortunately, there is a conspiracy afoot to smear those who have seen the light, and Ho laments how “they take us Q believers and they make us into tinfoil hat wearing people. That’s not the truth. We here in the Q community, we are the ones with the beautiful families. We’re the ones here with the businesses.” Photos of the putatively family-friendly event show him perched on a stage in front of a giant “Q” and hashtags like MKUltra and Pedogate.

 

Ho was also part of the lineup e.g. at the Gambles’ 2020 QAnon event in Jacksonville to complement the nearby Republican National Convention, as well as at the December 2020 “stop the steal” prayer rally in DC and the 2021 Qanon event For God & Country Patriot Roundup in Dallas.

 

A curious and rather famous part of QAnon mythology is the idea that John F. Kennedy Jr. faked his 1999 death in a plane crash in order to be able to team up with Donald Trump to take on the Satanic cabal that currently forms the deep state (QAnon followers’ evidence for the claim seems, for all practical purposes, to be that it is completely random and incoherent, which suits their reasoning patterns – apparently, the full baroque but notoriously gappy narrative involves time travel as well). As such, Ho’s cred among QAnon conspiracy theories got a significant boost when he and one Dave Blaze helped revive (well, reanimate might be more accurate) JFK, jr.’s long-defunct magazine George with Ho as editor-in-chief – note also that he was himself photographed with a “Trump / JFK Jr. 2020” T-shirt during the 2020 campaign. The current George-titled zombie magazine targets audiences interested in “spirituality” and “MAGA/Patriotism” and has offered “sit downs” with “Patriot Streetfighter” Scott McKay and the illustrator going by the name “The Commander’s Artist”, familiar for his portraits of Trump allies such as Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn as Revolutionary War heroes. As far as we can tell, it remains unclear whether Ho actually has the legal rights to use the George logo.

 

It is, we suppose, hardly surprising that Ho is firmly antivaccine as well. Together with his wife Nadean, Ho has e.g. hosted a podcast episode titled “Are Vaccines the Mark of the Beast?”, and no, that wasn’t just a question. During COVID, Ho was a reliable source of misinformation, both to downplay the virus and to warn the public against the vaccines, e.g. during his participation in the Health and Freedom tour.

 

Diagnosis: We will just modestly submit that it isn’t they who are primarily responsible for the image of Ho as a tinfoil hat wearing person. Those who listen to him – and there are, apparently, some – don’t need any further help to cultivate that image either. Good grief.