An Arizona congressman said Thursday that he won’t appear on a talk show hosted by conspiracy theorists on a digital network responsible for driving the anti-Semitic QAnon movement after criticism of his speech at a conference also attended by a prominent white nationalist.
A spokesperson for Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) told The Hill that Gosar will not appear on “Digging Deeper,” a talk show hosted on the digital Patriots’ Soapbox channel, hours after the show itself posted a promotional image advertising an interview with Gosar. The Arizona Mirror first reported the image on Thursday.
“He is not appearing. He was never confirmed,” said the spokesperson.
The show’s host, a woman who broadcasts under the name “Radix Verum,” has expressed the belief that FBI officials and “contractors” were active during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in which dozens of Capitol Police officers were injured and one was killed. Four others also died during the riot.
The broader network, Patriots’ Soapbox, has promoted stories related to the QAnon movement for years. One expert on the conspiracy theory described the channel as “a dedicated 24-7 livestream into the QAnon worldview” in an interview with The Daily Beast last year.
The channel has hosted prominent right-wingers linked to conspiracy theories in the past, including now-Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) during her successful primary challenge against former Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.). It has also hosted Nicholas Fuentes, a major figure on the far-right white nationalist scene who previously hosted a conference at which Gosar appeared earlier this year.
Gosar responded to criticism of his onstage appearance at Fuentes’s event by denouncing “white racism” while attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.
“I denounce when we talk about white racism,” Gosar said at the time. “That’s not appropriate.”
Updated: 10:52 p.m.