When Colorado Republicans elected two first-time party leaders last month, Chairman Dave Williams made the biggest headlines with his brazen election denialism, but he isn’t the most extreme new party officer. That title goes to GOP Secretary Anna Ferguson of Adams County, who shares Williams’ election denialism, but also supports the QAnon conspiracy theory that America’s top Democrats are secret pedophiles.
In a February 2021 post on the far-right social media site Gab, Ferguson responded to Fox Nation host David Webb’s question asking if anyone believed Obama or Biden have any love for America by answering: “Not in the least. What I do believe is that they are both pedophiles along with many others in government.”
Ferguson traces her start in politics to joining the election fraud conspiracist group U.S. Election Integrity Plan (USEIP) immediately after former President Trump lost the 2020 election. In an interview with far-right podcasters Chuck Bonniwell and Julie Hayden on March 15, 2023, she recounted how it happened.
Chuck Bonniwell: How long ago have you been actively involved with Adams County and all that?
Anna Ferguson: “Not really very long. After 2020, I started getting involved with the election integrity, you know, USEIP. Then from there I started teaching about caucus and PCPs [Precinct Committee Persons] in different places on behalf of -– under the umbrella of USEIP. And then I started getting involved in the Hanks campaign. We really were working very hard for him and we got to know so many people. I mean, it was wonderful.”
The Hanks campaign Ferguson mentions is the failed U.S. Senate primary campaign of former state Rep. Ron Hanks (R-Penrose), an election denier who attended the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
In her campaign speech at the state GOP Central Committee meeting in March, Ferguson didn’t mention USEIP by name but noted that she has “spent the last two years volunteering for several political issues including organizing and educating grassroots patriots throughout the state.”
According to Ferguson’s posts on Telegram, she was recruiting volunteers for USEIP’s “voter canvassing” in Adams County, an endeavor first reported by the Colorado Times Recorder, in which election deniers knocked on the doors of voters where they suspected “phantom votes” has been cast.
“I’m in need of volunteers for canvass in Adams county,” Ferguson posted to a Telegram group in October of 2021. “Anyone available to help? We really do need the help…Please sign up through useip.org. Everyone has to start there to become a member first. Everyone is vetted first.”
The canvassing project ultimately led to the group and its founders being sued in federal court for voter intimidation. The lawsuit against the three founders is ongoing after a judge declined to dismiss it, although she did remove USEIP, the entity, as a separate defendant. In her ruling, the judge criticized the 10th Circuit Court precedent requiring her to approve the dismissal of USEIP as a party.
Another Telegram post confirms Ferguson’s statement to Bonniwell about doing grassroots party organizing as part of her volunteer work with USEIP.
“Any Adams County people here? I live in adams and we have to begin preparing for caucuses,” wrote Ferguson. “Does anyone know any PCPs and/or Delegates and which precincts they represent? We need to find people to run, to show up, to vote on resolutions. Time is flying by and there is so much to get done. If you’re on the USEIP platform, ping me @AnnaF.”
Ferguson’s conspiratorial beliefs extend beyond the big three issues of QAnon, election denialism, and COVID-related conspiracies. She shared a video about a debunked conspiracy theory that the U.S. military is steering hurricanes via radio waves from a base in Alaska. She also referenced another QAnon-related conspiracy that accuses President Biden’s son of child sex trafficking based on a tattoo.
“Have you seen Hunter’s tattoo of the Finger Lakes on his back? Do a little research into that area,” Ferguson wrote. “I hope you can find what I did, it’ll disgust you.”
She’s even raised the classic “chem trails” conspiracy, posting on far-right social media platform GTTR in late 2021: “If you have an Alexa, ask this question as written… Alexa, why is the government spreading chem trails around the planet.”
That particular conspiracy theory is shared by at least one other voting member of the Colorado GOP Central Committee. Debbie Perry Smith of Littleton, who seconded Ferguson’s nomination as party Secretary, pushed the chem trail conspiracy at a rally for indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.
While the Gab, GTTR, and Telegram posts featured here are all from 2021, Ferguson’s recent activity shows no less enthusiasm for far-right conspiracy content. Her latest activity on Twitter was in February, when she retweeted an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory from prominent QAnon influencer ShadyGrooove.
Ferguson did not respond to a voicemail request for comment. This article will be updated with any response received.
Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams likewise did not respond to a request for comment on whether he was aware of Ferguson’s positions on these various conspiracy theories and if not, do they give him any concerns about how they reflect on the party. This article will be updated with any response received.
