A Moms for Liberty chapter leader campaigned for school board on a QAnon-affiliated podcast

The North Carolina County chapter founder also suggested she has previously watched the show

Written by Alex Kaplan & Olivia Little

Published

A Moms for Liberty chapter leader in North Carolina recently used a podcast affiliated with the dangerous QAnon conspiracy theory to promote the right-wing ”parental rights” group and her school board campaign, while also suggesting that she has been a viewer of the show.

On June 7, Natosha Tew, who founded and now serves as the legislation chair of Moms for Liberty’s New Hanover County, North Carolina, chapter, appeared on the podcast RedPill78. Host Zak Paine is a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory and a host on a QAnon-affiliated Rumble channel. Paine has also claimed that he was outside the Capitol building on January 6.

The Southern Poverty Law Center previously reported that Tew has promoted antigovernment extremism on social media, such as the Three Percenter militia movement. Additionally, according to the Wilmington Star-News, Tew’s behavior at a 2022 New Hanover County school board meeting was so disruptive that a law enforcement officer had to escort her out of the building. 

Tew appeared to wear a campaign pin during her appearance on RedPill78, while a caption across the bottom of the screen promoted her as a “candidate for New Hanover School Board” and showed the link for her campaign site. At the onset of the interview, Tew suggested to Paine that she had watched the show during the pandemic. After discussing her views and background, Tew urged viewers to “visit my website” and to “go and look up your local Moms for Liberty chapter,” claiming, “This movement can’t happen … without everyday people like me and like Zak and like you.” She also asked viewers to donate to her campaign if they “have extra cash and you want to throw it my way.” Additionally, Tew gave out her Moms for Liberty chapter’s email to viewers.

From the June 7, 2024, edition of RedPill78, streamed on Rumble

ZAK PAINE (HOST): Alright, well, Natosha, at the end of the show, I always like to ask my guests what would you most like for the audience to take away from tonight’s show? What closing thoughts would you have?

NATOSHA TEW (LEGISLATION CHAIR OF NEW HANOVER, NORTH CAROLINA, MOMS FOR LIBERTY): Oh, I thank you for having me. This is incredible. I never dreamed after watching Muffingate that I would actually be able to be on this show. This is awesome. 

And I would ask everyone to visit my website, before I forget that because my campaign manager would kick my tail. … Please go follow me on my social media. I’ve got good traction there, and we’re keeping everybody up to date with what we’re doing. 

But get involved. Get informed. Get activated. We can’t — this movement can’t happen without everyday people like me and like Zak and like you. So find — go and look up your local Moms for Liberty chapter. Go to [Moms for Liberty’s site]. Go look in the map. Click it. Go find one. If there’s not one there, we’ll get someone to you. If you have extra cash and you want to throw it my way, I would be so supremely grateful. … And I really would ask for your prayers, because this is a fight — it’s a spiritual battle. This is a fight against good and evil.

Tew’s interview with a QAnon supporter is another example of Moms for Liberty’s established pattern of embracing right-wing extremists. It also comes as the QAnon community has focused on school boards in recent years.