Deep state? No one in the "Deep State" wanted any of that. The "Deep State" is all the bureaucrats that tell political appointees "no, we can't because of this law from the 70's that says it's illegal...." All the federal employees getting laid off in DC are part of that "Deep State" - you really think someone that processes HR vouchers for AmeriCorps is also running psyops in their spare time?

The original Q stuff was most likely a 4Chan/8Kun prank that just spiraled into pure insanity and had no reason to slow down or stop. It's fairly well accepted that Ron Watkins and his dad started it or were close to those who did, and once it built up momentum, just ran with it. It's not hard to get people, especially conspiracy-prone folks to see patterns in anything once you prime them. It's literally the basis of how Trump got elected, you give them enough info for the pareidolia to fill in the gaps for them. How many people of that same caliber fly flags where they make a well-known fat gun-hater into a ripped guy holding a gun? Same mechanic. These people are also very prone to getting scammed as well due to the same cognitive shortcoming. Someone gives them dogshit info on an obvious scam and if the right virtue signaling is there, their bias-confirming lizard brain will do anything to belong and donate money or buy Trump-branded BS like the "Trump Card" scam.

It was definitely a test of their power. Notice the instigators did not face any justice, only the foot soldiers. They also proved the inability to prevent disaster in "the pipe bomb incident" that went unsolved. That did not make anyone in Congress sleep any lighter. It's also likely why we don't see much push back. Trump is the fucking mob, and you'll face the mobs justice if you step out of line.