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Threats from QAnon conspiracists have forced a butterfly sanctuary in the Rio Grande Valley to close

The National Butterfly Center, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Mission, has been the target of conspiracy theorists since 2019.

A South Texas butterfly sanctuary has closed after it was the target of conspiracy theories that escalated into credible threats.

The National Butterfly Center, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Mission, has long been the target of QAnon conspiracy theories falsely tying the organization to human trafficking.

The center is a 20-year-old nature conservatory for wild butterflies. There are no law enforcement investigations into the organization or its staff for human trafficking.

“They tell these lies in a variety of forms through all of their channels to provoke stochastic terrorism,” said the center’s executive director Marianna Treviño-Wright.

[. . . . ] The harassment escalated in late January when a right-wing congressional candidate from Virginia, Kimberly Lowe, visited the nature conservatory, Treviño-Wright said. Lowe demanded the center give her access to the river “to see all the illegals crossing on the raft.” Treviño-Wright said Lowe tackled her when she asked Lowe to leave the premises.

The center closed last weekend during the We Stand America border security rally. Former state Rep. Aaron Peña had informed Treviño-Wright that the center could be a target during the rally and that she should “be armed at all times or out of town.”

Attendees of the rally, largely composed of staunch Trump supporters, did stop at the conservatory. Ben Bergquam, a contributor for the far-right site Real America’s Voice, posted a minutelong clip on Twitter, repeating false claims about sex trafficking.

[ . . . . ] The false trafficking rumors around the National Butterfly Center echo “Pizzagate,” a 2016 conspiracy theory that claimed a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant was the site of a child abuse ring led by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Pizzagate made headlines when a man fired a gun at the restaurant based on the false information.

QAnon, a far-right political conspiracy and movement, emerged shortly after in 2017 and falsely claimed a child sex trafficking ring conspired against Trump. Once limited to fringe platforms, QAnon conspiracy theorists have flooded mainstream social networks and have been accused of plotting or carrying out violent crimes.

[ . . . . ] “It’s incredibly distressing that the United States has come to the point where a really significant part of the public is just no longer tethered to reality,” said Jeffrey Glassberg, the founder of the North American Butterfly Association, the parent organization of the butterfly center.

There are two problems here.

1. Someone, somewhere, makes up these lies. (and doesn't care who gets hurt)

2. A whole lot of people are so gullible that they will believe the most outlandish lies.

The harder and closer everyone looks at the stolen 2020 election lie, the worse that lie looks as time passes. The people who made up and loudly trumpeted the voting machine lies are now being called to account for their damages.

Having passed 8 BILLION covid vaccine doses given globally, and in the US having 63 % of the population fully vaccinated makes the fringe anti vax movement look worse each day.

How does a country get to where half the population can no longer spot obvious lies? (Democrats drink the blood of babies) Half the population can't tell reality from fantasy. Some subset of those are willing to take violent action based on LIES!

How does this happen? What went wrong?

How to people uncritically accept the most ridiculous lies as truth worth fighting for?