Former QAnon and Trump Supporter Apologizes to Anderson Cooper for Thinking He 'Ate Babies'

A supporter of former President Donald Trump who once believed in the far-right QAnon conspiracy [...]

By Allison Schonter

A supporter of former President Donald Trump who once believed in the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory apologized to CNN's Anderson Cooper for believing he ate babies. Appearing on CNN's special report, "Inside the QAnon Conspiracy," Saturday night, former QAnon supporter Jitarth Jadeja opened up about his former beliefs, including those about Cooper.

During the interview, Cooper asked Jadeja if he believed in the conspiracies the group supports, including "that high-level Democrats and celebrities were worshipping Satan" and "drinking the blood of children." Jadeja, who claims he stopped following QAnon in the summer of 2019, told Cooper that not only did he believe in them, he believed Cooper "did that." Jadeja went on to offer an apology, stating, "I would like to apologize for that right now. So, I apologize for thinking that you ate babies."

When Cooper asked if he "actually believed that I was drinking the blood of children," Jadeja confirmed that he did. Cooper then asked, "Was it something about me that made you think that?" Jadeja explained, "Q specifically mentioned you, and he mentioned you very early on. He mentioned you by name, and from there — he also talked about, like, for example, like, your family." Jadeja said "people still talk about that to this day," and that as recently as just four days ago, there were posts about Cooper, with some people believing he was "a robot."

"I didn't just believe that I believed that QAnon was part of military intelligence, but on top of that, that the people behind them were actually a group of fifth dimensional, interdimensional, extraterrestrial, bipedal, bird aliens called 'Blue Avians,'" he continued. "I was so far down in this conspiracy black hole that I was essentially picking and choosing whatever narrative that I wanted to believe in."

The QAnon conspiracy theory dates back to 2017, when the group first surfaced on 4chan, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). It centers on a supposed "deep state" acting against Trump, who is trying to take down a Satanic cult of pedophiles. Over the years, it has expanded to include other conspiracy theories and boasts support from a number of prominent figures.

Ahead of CNN's Saturday special report, Cooper called the special "something of a personal project," according to The Hill. Cooper acknowledged that the movement has also focused on him, as well as several others, "as somehow being responsible for some of their more outlandish, should we say, and bizarre, conspiracy theories. It's all made up, of course, but QAnon supporters seem to believe it or at least use it to try to harass me."

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