'Attempted infiltration': NC advocacy groups say someone tried to run sting operation on them
A pair of left-leaning activist groups said Friday that they uncovered a infiltration effort from a man with apparent ties to a Georgia congressional candidate backing a widely debunked conspiracy theory.
Common Cause North Carolina and Democracy North Carolina, two well established government watchdog groups, said a man calling himself "James Fortune" and a number of other out-of-state operatives posed as donors and volunteers, apparently in an attempted sting operation targeting left-leaning groups.
The scheme was detailed Friday afternoon in an article published by The News & Observer. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told the newspaper she was conducting a preliminary review to see if a criminal investigation was warranted.
Common Cause, Democracy NC and two other groups – Advance Carolina and Fortaleza – were targeted, The News & Observer reported. They were approached about donations and volunteer efforts, but when they checked the source of those donations – a Georgia company called Blue Sky Med Labs LLC – things didn't add up, the newspaper said.
Incorporation papers for the company had been filed only a few days before Fortune showed up in North Carolina, and they listed a political consultant "whose many hats include serving as the registered agent for a political organization of a U.S. House candidate who supports the QAnon movement," the newspaper reported.
QAnon is a conspiracy theory that, among other things, posits that President Donald Trump is fighting a secretive cabal of Satanic pedophiles. The FBI has identified this and other fringe conspiracy theories as domestic terrorism threats.
"By all accounts, this failed effort appears to be an attempt to undermine public confidence in our elections and sow mistrust in lawful work by organizations helping voters, including voters of color, exercise their right to vote," Democracy NC Executive Director Tomas Lopez said in a statement.
"We and our allies uncovered the operatives’ scheme, and we immediately alerted legal authorities, providing sufficient evidence to open an investigation," Common Cause NC Executive Director Bob Phillips said in a statement. "Common Cause NC will continue to combat any attempts by those seeking to weaken our democracy."
The News & Observer said it made several attempts to reach Fortune through contact information he gave to North Carolina groups, without success. Emails, texts and phone calls to people he sought to place as volunteers with the groups also went unanswered, the newspaper said.
