Banta, fueled by discredited conspiracies, eyes Pa. House 4th District seat

Jake Banta, the Republican candidate running to replace state Rep. Curt Sonney in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, says he wants to protect constitutional rights, restore confidence in elections, address record inflation and get people back to work.

He says he's a "common sense" candidate.

On social media, Banta embraces conspiracy theories about politics and the pandemic.

In the same way he's used a microphone and amplifier as the lead singer and guitarist of local band Jake's Blues, Banta has used platforms like Facebook, Gab and former President Donald Trump's Truth Social to amplify false, misleading and questionable claims and conspiracies to an audience of thousands. Banta claims his outspoken rhetoric prompted the FBI to visit his home in early 2021 when he was out of town — a claim the Erie Times-News was unable to verify with the FBI.

Banta has indicated he believes the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was planned by Democrats and carried out by Capitol police and others.

He's adamant Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden.

He has written that he believes COVID-19 was created by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as part of a broader plan by "globalists" — which he says includes Democrats, the World Health Organization and World Economic Forum — to depopulate the planet.

And he claims that 99% of the COVID-19 vaccine is made from graphene oxide, which can have severe side effects in high doses, and that it has killed more people than the virus itself.

More:Gunmen in Edinboro tried to stoke fear at march: Letters to the editor

'Concern for his fellow citizens'

If history and demographics are any guide, the race for the 4th Legislative District seat is Banta's to lose.

He's running against Democrat Chelsea Oliver, a former Corry city councilwoman, to fill the seat won nine times by Sonney, who is not running for re-election.

His opponent:Democrat Oliver vying for PA House seat long held by Sonney, GOP

All state House and Senate districts have been redrawn as part of redistricting. The partisan breakdown among voters in the new 4th District will change little when maps take effect next year. As of March, 49.57% of registered voters were Republicans; 36.5% were Democrats and 13.94% were independents or affiliated with a third party.

Banta, a Waterford-area resident, won 42% of the primary vote, fending off five other Republican challengers on May 17.

Sonney said Banta would make a good successor because he's "more of a citizen legislator."

"It's his concern about people in general," he said. "He does have an underlying concern for his fellow citizens. And he absolutely is very open to listening to everyone."

Sonney said he was not familiar with Banta's online remarks and declined to comment on them.

Tom Eddy, chairman of the Erie County Republican Party, also said he's not aware of the comments. He called Banta "level-headed" and added that the candidate has not discussed some of the claims he's made online at fundraisers and other campaign events Eddy has attended.

Though Banta agreed to be interviewed on April 25 ahead of the GOP primary, he declined several times to be interviewed for this article, most recently on Sept. 30.

Grew up on a LeBoeuf Township farm, a 'cold-beer guy'

Banta, 57, is most recognizable as the frontman and dynamic guitarist for his band, Jake's Blues, which formed more than three decades ago. Banta and his band were regulars at the now-demolished Beer Mug, 1108 Liberty St., in the early days before becoming a regional act and then flirting with the national scene. Banta even recorded with the blues-rock duo Double Trouble, the rhythm section that played with Banta's idol, Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Banta grew up on and later inherited the family farm in LeBoeuf Township.

"I love it; it's kind of a passion," Banta said about the family farm in a 2010 Erie Times-News article. "I grew up doing a small amount of farming. I like the environment out there. I live in the country, and things haven't changed much out there in my lifetime. So, I'm hoping to keep it that way for my kids."

Banta enlisted in the U.S. Navy and qualified as a SEAL after graduating from Fort LeBoeuf High School.

He worked for a time in the oil and gas industry and then said he became a private security contractor for the federal government. He'd spend monthslong stints in Afghanistan, Iraq and other areas of the Middle East before taking on maritime assignments.

"My job was to provide security in helping diplomats and agents start and or rebuild democracy and free nations that could exist in harmony and prosper in their resources," he said in a recent guest column for the Erie Times-News.

Banta claims he lost his contract over his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He told the Times-News he now regrets getting other vaccines required of him when he joined the military.

Banta, a self-described "guitar slinger," "proud patriot," and "cold-beer guy," said he never imagined he'd one day assume a new stage presence, reciting lines from the U.S. Constitution instead of Stevie Ray Vaughn lyrics.

"I've checked so many boxes in my life and I think it's really important that we fix this," Banta — a married father of three adult sons — said in an April 25 interview. "It's important to me. Whether we're talking about the economy, education or the lockdown and COVID and mandates — all those things played into it. I was looking at it more and more and I said, my gosh, we can do better than this."

Banta's political and musical worlds have collided in recent years when he's performed the national anthem at Trump rallies.

Banta hasn't always aligned with the Republican Party, though. He was a registered Democrat starting in 2004, but changed his party affiliation to Republican in June 2009, according to the Erie County Voter Registration Office.

"Parties do shift," he said earlier this year. "And what I've seen in the last few years out of the left has not been my choice."

Banta on the issues

A campaign video describes Banta as "passionate about preserving constitutional rights, ensuring voter integrity and getting the economy back on track."

Banta is a strong defender of Second Amendment rights. He was recently endorsed by the Gun Owners of America, which gave him a 100% rating.

He would also work to eliminate burdensome regulations and taxes that prevent business growth in the state.

He will oppose "the overreach" of the government's emergency powers, like those that were invoked during the pandemic to mandate masks and close businesses, and "radical" curriculum. He also wants to lower taxes and provide grants to small businesses, and lower property taxes for homeowners and elderly, according to his guest column.

Abortion rights

On abortion, Banta in his Erie Times-News interview earlier this year said he is "pro-life" and would do anything in his power to talk an expectant mother out of having an abortion. However, he would not support an abortion ban.

Asked if a ban on abortion should be enacted, though, Banta replied: "You can't force a woman into keeping a baby," he said. "That's not going to (work). But what you can do is talk her into it. (The baby) could be the next Einstein."

However, Erie News Now reported in September that Banta "called for debate on the issue" and suggested he might consider an abortion ban if exceptions are made for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

Was the 2020 election stolen?

Banta denies the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and has also claimed without evidence that it wasn't just the presidency that was stolen. He has said on social media that even incumbent Democrat state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro's victory over Republican Greg Hayes in the 3rd Legislative District race that year was the result of fraud. There is no evidence to support the claim.

Election reform

Banta supports stricter voter ID laws, and also overturning Pennsylvania's mail-in voting laws, he told the Times-News in April. He also believes that ballots should have serial numbers, as he wrote recently in the guest column for the Erie Times-News.

Jake Banta:A pledge to oppose agendas, restore sovereignty, reduce taxes

Recreational marijuana

Banta believes the legalization of recreational marijuana is inevitable in Pennsylvania, but he said in the same April interview that there needs to be more debate on the issue first. He would oppose any law that takes away other rights, like carrying a concealed weapon.

The pandemic and the presidential election

Banta's political rise began online, where he's riffed about what he calls the "plandemic," accused Democrats of being "tyrants" and "globalists," and circulated a range of unfounded claims from far-right and anti-vaccination websites. When some of his comments have been removed from Facebook, leading to his account being suspended, Banta has taken refuge on sites such as Gab and Truth Social.

Banta's biggest audience, though, is on Facebook. Not only does he have both campaign and personal Facebook pages, he created and now administers the private "I Am America" page, which has surpassed 5,300 members.

Banta uses "I am America" as a common sign-off on many of his posts. It's also a group he formed that gathers in person to talk about politics.

More: Erie County group takes stand because ‘racism is everywhere’

Letters to the editor: Gunmen in Edinboro tried to stoke fear at march

The "I am America" Facebook page includes several posts from members who reference or promote conspiracy theories, including QAnon, a movement that baselessly claims the world is controlled by a cabal of satanic cannibals — high-profile Democrats, government officials, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities — that operates a global child sex trafficking operation and conspired against Trump during his four years in office. It has also claimed that Trump will take down and expose this supposed cabal on a day referred to as "the storm."

The claims, offered by a person or persons known as "Q," first appeared in 2017 on the fringe website 4chan and spawned a community of "Qtubers," YouTubers who specialize in analyzing the cryptic "drops."

Though Banta himself has not made any known specific references to QAnon on social media, some of his posts bear a striking resemblance to some of its theories.

For example, on Nov. 14, 2020, he posted the following: "In the coming months, President Trump will win the election and the liberal Left socialist, Marxist, globalists attacking our country will be arrested. There is evidence coming out soon that will not only change the election but prosecute those involved in fraud, tyranny and murder. The lockdown being proposed now again, is part of this coup. Resist. ALL of this will be vindicated and the perpetrators taken down. Hold the Line and stand by your Commander In Chief."

None of this has happened.

Jan. 6 conspiracy theories

Banta has repeatedly defended the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, calling them "patriots" and shunning references to the insurrection.

He's posted that Ashli Babbitt, the 35-year-old veteran who was shot and killed inside the Capitol, was murdered by a Capitol police officer as she and others gathered outside the Speaker's Lobby, which leads to the chamber of the House of Representatives.

"A hero died standing up for her country being stolen from us all. SHE deserves a statue rather than some drug overdosed felon," Banta wrote in one post, referring to George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police in 2020.

On June 16, as the House committee investigating the Capitol riots held its third public hearing, Banta posted a baseless theory that the riots were planned by Trump's political opponents.

"AMERICA. They think you are stupid," Banta wrote. "There is clear footage from Jan. 6th. of Capitol Police opening doors and letting in people calmly walking by security. THIS day of Jan. 6 was planned to be used against ALL Americans. To divide and accuse. To derail the return of President Trump," Banta wrote, in part.

However, as reported on the website FactCheck.org, a project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center, video footage appearing to show instances of Capitol police officers holding open doors doesn't prove they were allowing rioters into the building.

“There is no evidence of misconduct in the short video clip,” the U.S. Capitol police said in their statement to Factcheck.org. “The officers are blocking the hallway and attempting to de-escalate the situation, as they are trained to, by telling the crowd to not attack or assault and to remain calm."

Election denial

The Capitol riot and the conspiracies about it stem from unfounded claims that Biden stole the election.

Banta has echoed many of these false claims online.

Banta has wondered how Trump could lose when his campaign rallies "were 10 times bigger" than Biden's events.

But he ignores basic facts, including that Trump held traditional rallies while Biden — because of COVID-19 — held invitation-only events that strictly adhered to social distancing and other health safety protocols, as was the case when both candidates stumped in Erie in October 2020. The Biden campaign, for example, did not inform the news media or the public about the venue for his Erie appearance until hours before the event.

Banta also questions how Biden received 11.5 million more votes in 2020 than then-candidate Barack Obama did in his historic 2008 run, but seemingly does not consider that there were 27 million more age-eligible voters in the U.S. in 2020, that the number of registered voters had increased by 22 million people in that 14-year span and that turnout increased by 4% over 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Register.

October 2020 Erie visit:Biden delivers pro-labor speech, blasts Trump in visit

More recently, Banta has claimed that the debunked film "2000 Mules," made by ring-wing commentator Dinesh D'Souza, proves that the election was stolen.

The film baselessly alleges that 2,000 people or "mules" were paid by the Democratic Party to collect and drop off ballots at drop boxes in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania. But experts have told the Associated Press and several other media outlets that the cell phone tracking technology that the film bases its claims on cannot identify specific people and is not precise enough to know whether a person was making multiple stops at a drop box or had other reasons to be at these sites, which are typically in high-traffic, public places (Erie County's is located at the courthouse). Nor does the film account for exceptions to ballot harvesting laws — some states allow people to drop off ballots for family members and members of the same household, for example.

Even ultra-conservative pundit and provocateur Ann Coulter criticized the film.

"Even if every cellphone dot represented a left-wing organizer illegally dropping off another person’s ballot, that still wouldn’t make the ballot invalid," Coulter wrote in a June column. "A legal ballot can be illegally delivered, although the guy who delivered it might be in trouble."

Banta is not alone, though.

In August, a poll taken by Franklin & Marshall College found that 41% of respondents believe that Pennsylvania election officials failed to count the state's vote correctly in the 2020 presidential election. Some 9% said they were unsure.

COVID-19 conspiracies

Banta's been especially vocal about the COVID-19 pandemic. He's called the virus a "bioweapon" and has referred to the vaccine as "Jim Jones times millions." He claims he's talked to scores of people who have had adverse reactions to the vaccine, including blood clots. He has said and posted that he believes the U.S. government should stop permitting the vaccine.

His most frequent false claims are that the vaccine has killed more people than the virus itself and that it was created by Gates and Fauci with the help of China.

Banta cites a 52-page vaccine death report that falsely claims millions have died from the vaccine. Its authors draw their conclusions from misinterpreted information on databases, namely the Virus Adverse Effects Reporting System, as other anti-vaccination activists have done, according to Science.org.

Banta's claim that the mRNA vaccine contains 99% graphene oxide appears to be based on a heavily criticized analysis from a Spanish professor, who acknowledged that the vial he tested was from a "single, limited sample" of unknown origin, according to Reuters, and that his “microscope doesn’t provide conclusive evidence.”

As for Gates, the Republican nominee for state representative points to a 2005 video that has long been circulating on the internet that claims to show the billionaire making a presentation to the U.S. Department of Defense on how to use vaccines to inoculate religious extremists. But the video is a hoax and does not in fact show Gates, as Reuters reported at the start of the pandemic.

Ivermectin

Not only has he discouraged people from getting the COVID-19 vaccine and to detox if they already have, Banta, who does not have any medical background, has pushed an alternative treatment: ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug approved by the FDA to fight tropical diseases in humans and used to prevent heartworm and to treat internal and external parasites in animals.

Banta said he touts ivermectin because of his own experiences with the drug — he claims it saved his mother's life after she tested positive for the virus — and its alleged effectiveness in India and other countries.

The Poynter Institute notes that there is no scientific basis for the claims of the drug's effectiveness in India and there is no consensus on the reason for the decline in COVID-19 cases at the time ivermectin was being used.

The FDA has not approved the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, except in clinical studies. The National Institutes of Health recognizes that ivermectin has been shown to inhibit replication of the SARS-CoV-2 in cell cultures. But additional studies, the NIH notes, "fail to show clear evidence that ivermectin reduces time of recovery or prevents COVID-19 disease progression."

Banta claims ivermectin was so successful in India that the chief scientist for the World Health Organization is on trial for murder for discouraging its use in favor of the vaccine. That claim is misleading, according to the Poynter Institute and the website Myth Detector. The suit was brought by a group of lawyers, not criminal prosecutors, and was dismissed in June 2021.

Conspiracy, other claims

Banta has said that efforts to impose mask, business-closure and vaccine mandates, to ban guns, and to "steal" elections, among other things, are all part of a "new world order" plot by "globalists" to depopulate the planet and "take your Sovereign Nation and make the World a Socialist Marxist state," as he wrote in May. He points to both the World Health Organization and World Economic Forum, along with Democratic lawmakers, as the primary culprits.

Banta points to remarks Biden made in March when he used the term "new world order." But a fact check by USA Today notes that he was referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, not the decades-old conspiracy theory.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says that "new world order" conspiracies are based on "paranoia" and often use "misinformation and disinformation (to) target institutions and public figures.

"The modern-day conspiracy propagandist is fueled by the belief that American ideals are being eroded by liberal forces that aim to destroy the country from the inside out," the SPLC website says. "The goal of this supposed cabal of liberal elites is to establish a communist/socialist/Marxist regime and renounce U.S. sovereignty, instead choosing to opt into a one-world government."

Banta has also used social media to comment on other social issues.

Banta has said that after the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the second part of what he calls the "plandemic" was the "Floyd installed riots" a reference to the protests that followed the May 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

He falsely claims public schools are "indoctrinating" students by teaching critical race theory, which is currently not part of the Pennsylvania Department of Education's required curriculum, and is not taught in any K-12 schools in northwestern Pennsylvania or at any of Erie County's colleges.

More: Critical race theory isn't taught in NWPA schools, but controversy still looms

He's criticized the Pennsylvania Department of Education for offering on its website guidance for teachers about gender identity, including the use of preferred personal pronouns.

And he has on multiple occasions misgendered Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health who now serves as a U.S. assistant secretary of health.

"What I do on social media is pass on common sense," Banta wrote in a text message to an Erie Times-News reporter in August. "By my own accord I think I'm 99% accurate. I try very hard to be unbiased. I research daily. And have for the last few years. My objective is to help the country."

The 4th Legislative District includes the city of Corry; Edinboro, Elgin, Girard, Lake City, McKean, Mill Village, North East, Platea, Union City, Waterford, and Wattsburg boroughs; Amity, Concord, Franklin, Girard, Greenfield, Leboeuf, McKean, North East, Union, Venango, Washington, Waterford and Wayne townships.

Candidate bio:

• Jake Banta

• Party: Republican

• Age: 57

• Occupation: Guitarist and singer in Jake's Blues, former U.S. Navy SEAL and security contractor for the federal government

• Education: Graduate of Fort LeBoeuf High School

• Family: Married, three children

• Information: jakebantaforpa.com; facebook.com/JakeforPa

Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on Twitter at @ETNRink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PA House candidate Banta amplifies election, COVID conspiracies online