Eugene Ho, Pro-Trump Candidate, Has Long History of ties to QAnon

The merchandise website of Eugene Ho, a Myrtle Beach mayoral candidate, includes a wholesome tagline: “Our mission at Patriot Forty-Five began simply enough: To provide patriotic & Jesus-lovin’ goods that are Made in the USA.”

That’s not quite where it began, however. Back in 2020, when Ho was building a following among the MAGA faithful, Patriot Forty-Five, had a slightly darker inclusion in its tagline: “to provide patriotic, Q & Jesus-lovin’ gear that is Made in the USA,” according to the internet’s wayback machine.That “Q” lovin’ is a reference to QAnon, which posits that a global cabal of prominent “elites” — including top figures in the Democratic party — run an elaborate child trafficking ring with Satanic undertones that former President Donald Trump is fighting to expose.

And Q-lovin’ it was. There were mugs bearing the slogan “WWG1WGA” (Where We Go 1, We Go All), the official mantra of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory. Patriot Forty Five tank tops emblazoned “Get WQke,” a T-shirt that said “Enjoy the show” with a Q and a popcorn logo; and “Trump/Kennedy 2020,” a reference to a belief considered fringe even within the QAnon movement that JFK, Jr. is alive and lying in wait to be Trump’s running mate.

All of that is gone now. The site — which lists Ho’s wife Nadean’s email address in its contact section, and is still prominently featured on his Linktree — now features a fairly straightforward amalgam of MAGA-related detritus. There’s a copy of Ho’s book, TRUMPography: How Biblical Principles Paved the Way to the American Presidency, in which Ho, who touts himself on his Facebook page as a personal campaign photographer for Trump, shares his insights into the president from his time on the trail. There’s an oil painting of Trump pumping his fist authoritatively. Perhaps most telling of all the merchandise, however, are the T-shirts labeled “Gene Ho for Mayor.”

Ho’s run for mayor of the South Carolina city is a prime example of how far-right conspiracy theorists have pivoted from largely promoting misinformation online to focusing on efforts to affect change in the real-world political sphere, all while toeing the ever-winnowing line between mainstream respectability and going full-throttle Q. It’s a strategy that’s yielding dividends, as the ranks of elected officials with ties to the movement grows — particularly in South Carolina.

Ho’s run “is definitely a sign of Q’s infiltration into local office, which are usually low-turnout elections that don’t take a ton of effort to win, just name recognition,” says Mike Rothschild, author of the QAnon history The Storm Is Upon Us. 

Ho declined to be interviewed for this story and did not respond to a list of questions sent by Rolling Stone regarding his website, his views on QAnon and vaccines, his work for Trump, and his campaign.

Ho’s political journey began when he was taking photos of the…