Election Deniers Think the Venezuela Attack Is All About 2020

Los Angeles: Election deniers and MAGA supporters think the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is tied to the 2020 election. They say this event has nothing to do with oil or drug dealing. Rather, they believe it connects to their claims about a rigged election that helped Joe Biden.

After Maduro was captured on January 3, former President Donald Trump shared many posts on Truth Social. These posts discussed election fraud, especially targeting Dominion Voting Systems. Other supporters talked about Smartmatic, another voting company. Both companies faced disinformation after the 2020 election. Election deniers said these machines helped rig the election. These claims were shown to be false when Fox News paid almost $800 million to Dominion in a lawsuit.

Despite this, conspiracy theories about these companies are surfacing again. Supporters claim that Venezuela, linked to Smartmatic, was involved in stealing elections. QAnon influencer Chad Vivas mentioned this online, connecting it to Trump’s posts. He thinks the timing is no coincidence.

Sean Davis, a conservative magazine leader, speculated that Maduro might bring up election rigging to lessen charges against him. Another influencer suggested that election-rigging technology was being used in Venezuela. The White House did not confirm if election fraud got connected to the decision to capture Maduro.

After the 2020 election, Trump pushed wild conspiracy theories. Many public officials said the vote was safe and secure. Sidney Powell, one of Trump’s lawyers, pushed ideas that Smartmatic helped rig elections in Venezuela and the U.S. Now, she celebrates Trump’s actions in Venezuela and continues promoting these conspiracy claims online.