Derek Johnson is an American conspiracy theorist, musician, and Author known for promoting various unfounded claims about U.S. government operations, election fraud, and military control. He gained prominence in far-right circles following the 2020 United States presidential election.<ref name"leadstories1"/><ref name"leadstories2"/><ref name="leadstories3"/>
Background
Johnson is described as an Alabama-based U.S. Army veteran, singer-songwriter, and Billboard-charting country music artist.<ref name"alreporter"/> He operates a website called "The Blueprint" at thedocuments.info, which he claims is "an online tool to help the public understand Military Laws and Orders".<ref name"alreporter"/>
As of November 2023, Johnson had 143,000 followers on .<ref name="alreporter"/>
Conspiracy theories and claims
Election fraud and "Two Presidents" theory
Johnson is a prominent promoter of the false claim that Donald Trump is still the President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.<ref name"leadstories1"/><ref name"alreporter"/> He has described Trump as a "military plant" and asserts that "some set of military laws and orders means that Trump is actually still commander in chief".<ref name="alreporter"/>
Biden replacement theory
Johnson has promoted the baseless claim that President Joe Biden has been "executed and replaced".<ref name"alreporter"/> He has shared side-by-side comparisons of photos of Joe Biden on social media, insinuating that Biden had been replaced.<ref name"alreporter"/>
COVID-19 conspiracy theories
In a document entitled "Hindsight is 2020", Johnson claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic was a "nuclear option" orchestrated by political forces. He wrote, "The 'Nuclear Option' was Covid-19. What you have to understand is … it's just a word attached to flu statistics. The military actually took over in November 2016. That's when a lot of the arrests were made. Everything you've seen since then are actors in the best technology known to man."<ref name="alreporter"/>
Johnson also claimed that the military receives a different set of COVID-19 vaccines than the general public.<ref name="alreporter"/>
Other claims
Johnson has asserted that the January 6 insurrection was staged by the FBI.<ref name="alreporter"/>
Public appearances and controversy
In November 2023, Johnson was invited to participate in an "author's week" event at the Monroe Public Library in Alabama. The invitation sparked controversy, with a former activities coordinator at the library expressing concern that giving Johnson a platform to share his views and sell merchandise crossed the line of free speech and could potentially harm the community through misinformation.<ref name="alreporter"/>
Criticism and debunking
Johnson's claims have been widely criticized and debunked by fact-checkers, legal experts, and military officials.<ref name"leadstories1"/><ref name"leadstories2"/><ref name="leadstories3"/> His misinterpretation of legal documents, government operations, and military protocols has been noted by constitutional scholars and fact-checking organizations.