A podcast host affiliated with the QAnon conspiracy theory movement has featured the secretary of Veterans Affairs and at least four Republican members of Congress in recent months.

Jon Herold, known online as “Patel Patriot,” came to prominence in the QAnon community after the 2020 presidential election when he created a conspiracy theory known as “Devolution” that he has said “mirrors closely to Q,” which the community subsequently embraced. The baseless theory held that Donald Trump was secretly still the president during Joe Biden’s tenure — having “suspended the counting of the electoral college votes” and “secretly suspended elements of the Constitution” — and would eventually return to the Oval Office during Biden’s term.

In October 2022, Herold co-founded the Rumble channel “Badlands Media” with Kate Buckley — who is known online as “Kate Awakening” and has appeared at QAnon-promoting events. The channel has dedicated much of its programming to covering QAnon and the related Devolution conspiracy theory. Last November, Herold noted that he has “allowed multiple Q shows a week on Badlands” and that “people talk about Q drops all the time.” (Q drops are cryptic messages from an anonymous entity on message boards known simply as “Q.”) He also noted that he has previously argued that the posts from Q “are legit.”

Since May, Herold has hosted Doug Collins, who leads Trump's Department of Veterans Affairs, and at least four GOP members of Congress — Reps. Michael Cloud (R-TX), Pat Harrigan (R-NC), Rich McCormick (R-GA), and Kevin Kiley (R-CA) — on his Badlands Media show, The Daily Herold.

During those appearances, Herold pushed election denial, saying U.S. elections are “fraudulent,” asking Cloud how to “fix our elections,” and telling Harrigan our biggest issue is our “election system.” Responding to Herold's election denial, Cloud said Congress needs to “pass the SAVE Act,” which would ban noncitizens from voting, while Harrigan said people have to find “your champions on these particular issues that are on the committees of jurisdiction that deal with this” and “really ride those guys hard.” Kiley pointed to “election integrity groups, you know, all across the country.”

Herold also asked why people should pay their taxes. Kiley said he could “sympathize with that view,” but Cloud told Herold that “the last thing you’re going to hear me come on a podcast and say is don't pay your taxes.” McCormick also noted to Herold that not paying taxes is against the law. 

Herold suggested that another Badlands Media host, who has promoted Q drops on social media and has claimed that they had not paid their taxes “since the 2020 stollen election,” had inspired him to ask the question of politicians.

Herold also asked Collins why Americans should pay their taxes and complained to him about “our fraudulent election system.”

Cloud thanked Herold “so much for what you’re doing” and Harrigan told him that “it was super fun talking to you.”

Despite Q’s years-long silence — the central figure in the conspiracy theory has not posted since 2022 — the QAnon community has still maintained some influential connections. Chris Clem, who says he briefly served in Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement under Trump, went on a QAnon supporter’s program in June and touted how “important” the show was, and U.S. Agency for Global Media senior adviser Kari Lake appeared with QAnon figures in February.

Meanwhile, Trump himself has also continued to boost QAnon messaging, and apparently has a QAnon painting at one of his properties. In October 2024, Media Matters reported that Trump had amplified QAnon-promoting accounts 953 times during the roughly two and a half years he had been posting on his social media platform Truth Social. Since then, Trump has continued to boost QAnon-promoting accounts, amplifying them at least 65 more times. In total, Trump has promoted these accounts at least 1,018 times on Truth Social.

Simultaneously, the QAnon community has boosted some of Trump’s messaging and appointees.