THE so-called March 4 prophecy of the shadowy QAnon conspirators took an awful turn when the planned session of House of Representatives was cancelled and high security was imposed on the Capitol.

It happened yesterday, just two months after supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the seat of American democracy.

Congress members and staff were advised to stay away from the Capitol after the FBI and Homeland Security Department warned that violent militia groups and QAnon followers had discussed attacking the building and its occupants on March 4. The Senate remained in the Capitol but with massive security in place. 

QAnon had been circulating a conspiracy theory that Trump would be re-instated to the White House on March 4, which, before 1933, was the date on which presidents were sworn in. 

According to the BBC Monitoring service: “The date March 4 began spreading among QAnon followers only days after Mr Biden was sworn in on January 20.

“That completely predictable event caused tumult in the world of QAnon – a wide-ranging, completely unfounded theory that says Mr Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles.

“QAnon followers had been promoting January 20 as a day of reckoning, when prominent Democrats and other members of the alleged ‘cabal’ would be arrested and executed on the orders of Mr Trump.

“When the promised ‘storm’ failed to materialise, there was shock and despair among many believers.”

They then turned their attention to March 4, when one QAnon influencer said they would “go rogue” while other figures in the movement claimed the March 4 theory was a “false flag by the deep state” to discredit QAnon.

The conspiracy theory turned to conspiracy fact, according to the joint FBI-Homeland Security bulletin which said that domestic groups have “discussed plans to take control of the US Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about March 4”.

Entitled “National Capital Region Remains Attractive Target for Domestic Violent Extremists”, the bulletin said the militia violent extremists may “exploit public gatherings either formally organized or spontaneous to engage in violence”.

It also warned that “Domestic Violent Extremists” or “Militia Violent Extremists” had been emboldened by the January 6 attack on the Capitol and thus posed a higher overall threat.

What had been dismissed as the lunatic fringe stunt suddenly became a real threat, and Congressional authorities had no choice but to cancel yesterday’s planned House of Representatives session. 

The joint bulletin said the QAnon and other groups were motivated by the “perception of election fraud and other conspiracy theories associated with the presidential transition, which may contribute to mobilizing to violence with little or no warning.”

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the threat from domestic violent extremism, “particularly racially-motivated and anti-government extremists, did not end on January 6 or Inauguration Day.”

The spokesperson added: “We are witnessing a years-long trend of false narratives fuelling violence, and the current heightened security environment in the National Capital Region illustrates that this will be an ongoing challenge for law enforcement in the months to come.”

The Capitol Police service said it had obtained intelligence showing a “possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group.”

The police stated: “We have already made significant security upgrades to include establishing a physical structure and increasing manpower to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers.”