# I AM Activity The **"I AM" Activity** is an occult new religious movement founded in the 1930s by [[Guy Ballard]] and his wife Edna Ballard, teaching that "Ascended Masters" — chiefly the Comte de **St. Germain** — communicated divine truths through Guy Ballard. In [[Dave Troy]]'s "[[The Big History Behind January 6th]]" Part 5 it is a recurring thread linking 1930s American fascism, libertarian pioneer [[Robert LeFevre]], and present-day QAnon figures. ## Beliefs and history Founded in Chicago, the movement drew on Theosophy and "Ascended Master" teachings, holding that St. Germain had chosen Ballard to lead a new spiritual dispensation. It grew rapidly in the 1930s, working audiences into fervent chanting sessions. [[Jane Mayer]], quoted by Troy, notes the movement's decrees included chants demanding the annihilation of named enemies — invoked, in that era, against Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt — situating "I AM" alongside the rise of 1930s American fascism. In 1940 the U.S. government indicted the Ballards and other leaders for mail fraud, alleging they solicited funds through knowingly false religious claims. The resulting Supreme Court case, *United States v. Ballard* (1944), became a landmark on religious freedom and the limits of courts adjudicating the truth of religious belief. [[Robert LeFevre]], an "I AM" follower from about 1936 to 1940, was named in a supplemental indictment. ## Persistence and offshoots The movement survives today as the **St. Germain Foundation** (based near Chicago) and, through a separate lineage, the [[Church Universal and Triumphant]] in Montana. ## The QAnon connection Troy's Part 5 traces "I AM" imagery into present-day conspiracy networks: figures such as [[Thomas Schoenberger]] (who uses the alias "Thomas St. Germain") and [[Lisa Clapier]] ("SnowWhite7IAM") deploy "I AM" cult content, sitting inside the same personnel web that promoted QAnon and Pizzagate. The claim is one of *cultural inheritance* — syncretic occult-libertarian belief systems reused for a new movement — not a formal organizational tie. ## See also - [[Guy Ballard]] · [[Robert LeFevre]] · [[Church Universal and Triumphant]] · [[The Octopus]]