What is ‘Kraken’ and what does it have to do with the Trump election challenge

TORONTO – Calls for the “release of Kraken”, once reserved for Scandinavian folk tales and rum commercials, have become the latest rally for pro-Trump groups to spread evidence of widespread voter fraud in the US by-elections.

Pro-Trump groups, including QAnon conspiracy theorists, are sharing the hashtag #ReleaseTheKraken after the election of President-elect Joe Biden in an attempt to support a legal campaign to challenge the election results.

How did Kraken, a huge sea monster from Scandinavian folklore who rose from the sea to devour his enemies, and a famous rum brand name become a symbol of this campaign?

The hashtag comes from comments made by Sidney Powell, a lawyer for Michael Flynn, a former U.S. national security adviser.

In an interview with the Fox Business Network on November 13, Powell said the president’s team had sufficient evidence to prove widespread voter fraud in several key states.

“We are talking about hundreds of thousands of votes. President Trump won a solid victory in this election,” she said in an interview.

Powell noted that he has seen growing evidence and testimony from voters to prove that Dominion voting machines have changed ballots in key swing states, and that machines have been developed to tighten elections in countries such as Venezuela, Cuba and China.

When asked if her claims about voter fraud were “the culmination of a four-year effort to overthrow Trump’s presidency,” she accused voter fraud of being carried out with the help of tech companies, social media companies and the media. .

“I’m going to release Kraken,” she said.

The hashtag continues to gain traction on Twitter as pro-Trump supporters spread news of attempts to legally challenge the election results. However, on Saturday, some tweets appeared to be fun in this endeavor as users shared pictures of The Kraken Rum Bottles and images of octopuses commonly used to depict fictional creatures.

There was no evidence of widespread voting fraud, which Trump and his legal team have repeatedly accused of being beaten by judges and state election officials.