Birth of the Coalition
Readers who don’t particularly care about the coalition’s history can safely proceed to Part 4 of the report.
The coalition’s website says that it was created at a May 1, 2021 meeting in Las Vegas which was arranged by Jim Marchant. In fact, Marchant and Savin both agree that the coalition began significantly earlier than that — by both of their accounts, planning began only days after the 2020 election.
It’s notable that the website’s account omits all mention of Savin and obscures the identity of the “brightest and best political and policy minds in the country” who attended the gathering. This is unfortunate, since it would be useful to know who the coalition’s brain trust was.
Happily, we can establish at least some of their identities – and prove that Savin was in on the coalition from the planning stages – with Marchant’s own words. In an April 2021 interview with QAnon influencer Scott McKay (aka the “Patriot Streetfighter”), Marchant said: “I’ve been talking with people like Patrick Byrne and Mike Lindell and Colonel Phil Waldron. They are actually in my coalition.” (Rumble, 1:36:56 – 4/19/21)
Byrne and Lindell have been heavily involved – both personally and financially – in attempts to overthrow the 2020 election. Waldron was a key figure in “Stop the Steal” efforts after the 2020 election. He is best known for his role in creating the infamous “coup PowerPoint” and presenting it to members of Congress shortly before January 6th.
In an October 2021 speech delivered on stage at a QAnon convention in Las Vegas1, Marchant explained Savin’s role in detail (see here, here, and here for relevant videos). “Right after the election, Juan showed up [with] a few others, President Trump allies. I was gonna run for Congress again,” but they asked him: “would you run for Secretary of State here in Nevada?”
“Not only did they ask me to run, they asked me to put together a coalition of other like-minded Secretary of State candidates. I got to work, Juan O Savin helped, and we formed a coalition…. We had our inaugural meeting right here in Las Vegas, May 1st. We had Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, I think Jim Hoft and Joe Hoft from Gateway Pundit2 Zoomed in. Brian Kennedy with the Claremont Institute.”3
We can verify Savin’s presence at the May 2021 kick-off meeting with a statement from another attendee, conspiracist podcaster David Whited (Rumble, 1:35 forward – 6/29/21). This is useful: it gives us proof that Marchant wasn’t just playing to the crowd at the QAnon convention when he said that Savin was intimately involved in the coalition from the word “go.”
It’s also worth noting that Savin backs up Marchant’s recollection of how the coalition got started. Their accounts aren’t quite identical – Savin remembers the first discussions as happening at his residence, while Marchant has Savin and others paying him a visit – but broadly, the two principals agree that the coalition started in Las Vegas shortly after the 2020 election. They also agree on the coalition’s raison d’être.
What is the Coalition’s Goal?
In a May 2021 interview with coalition candidate Rachel Hamm of California, Savin described the group’s inaugural meeting (YT, Rumble, at approx 13:14 – 5/17/21). Savin claims there were “about 50 people” there, including candidates, who were “looking at how we’re going to have a lawful election this next time around and get to the right result…. How are we going to coordinate between the various states to get to the right outcome?” (13:35: YT, Rumble – 5/17/21)
Naturally, this raises a question: what would Juan’s favored candidates accept as “the right outcome?” Are they open to the idea of a Democratic victory, or do they reject Democratic wins as the products of fraud and cheating?
FOOTNOTES
1 In addition to Marchant, the following coalition figures spoke at the QAnon convention: Savin, Arizona’s Mark Finchem, Karamo, and Hamm.
2 The Gateway Pundit is a major right-wing media outlet – a digital propaganda broadsheet that is, perhaps, second only to Fox News in terms of reach and influence.
3 Brian T. Kennedy is a former president of, and current senior fellow at, the Claremont Institute. The Claremont Institute is the best-known MAGA thinktank.