DHS alarmed by conspiracy theory claiming Trump will be ‘reinstated’ as president: report

The Department of Homeland Security is worried by the QAnon conspiracy theory that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president in August.

Trump reportedly was convinced of being reinstated by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, even though the U.S. Constitution does not contain a provision to allow it to happen.

"The conspiracy theory that Donald Trump will be reinstated as president in August has sparked concerns at the Department of Homeland Security, a top official there told members of Congress on Wednesday. The exchange came in a members-only briefing that John Cohen, the department's top counterterrorism official, gave to the House Committee on Homeland Security," Politico reported Thursday, citing "three people familiar with the briefing."

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who was a CIA analyst before her political career, asked Cohen about the reinstatement conspiracy theory.

"Cohen replied that DHS is not aware of any specific, credible threats of violence linked to the conspiracy theory about Trump being reinstated. But he added that DHS is following discussion of the topic online among extremist communities. And he said department officials are highly concerned about it because it fuels the false narrative that the election was rigged — a narrative that may trigger a violent response from extremists," Politico reported. "A Morning Consult/POLITICO survey from earlier this month showed that almost one-third of Republican voters have bought into the conspiracy theory. It traffics in the same themes of election-rigging that fueled the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Republican members of Congress blocked an effort to establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate that attack."