Candidate's QAnon Posts Earn Rebuke From Opponent In St. Charles

ST. CHARLES, IL — A candidate for St. Charles City Council is facing criticism from one of her opponents for posting several images that showed support for QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy theory group.

Kim Malay in September posted a photo of a QAnon-branded American flag with a “Trump 2020: Keep America Great” sign, according to a Facebook post by Richard Artz.

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Artz shared a second screenshot Monday of a photo Malay posted Jan. 3, which shows a snake in a “Q” shape over the words “Where We Go One We Go All,” a common QAnon slogan. The photo was edited to look like the iconic yellow “Don’t Tread On Me” flag from the Revolutionary War era.

Malay, Artz and Steve Weber are running to represent St. Charles’ Fifth Ward on the City Council.

QAnon “centers on the baseless belief” that former President Donald Trump was “waging a secret campaign against enemies in the ‘deep state’ and a child sex trafficking ring run by satanic pedophiles and cannibals,” according to the Associated Press.

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Artz released a statement Monday alongside Malay’s photos, saying voters in St. Charles’ Fifth Ward “deserve an explanation” about her QAnon posts.

“They deserve to know why Ms. Malay posted these images. Like most Americans, I was shocked and appalled at the insurrection that occurred on Capitol Hill” on Jan. 6, Artz said. “It is my firm belief that the voters of this ward do not want someone who supports baseless conspiracy theories serving them on the City Council.”

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The two QAnon-related photos that Artz called attention to no longer appear on Malay’s personal Facebook page. Malay did not respond Wednesday to Patch’s questions about the posts.

Speaking to the Daily Herald, Malay confirmed she posted and later deleted the images. However, she said she doesn’t “follow the QAnons” and doesn’t “condone any violence and racism,” the report states.

Malay currently serves on the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission.

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