It’s hard to know when to give up on something you like that consistently disappoints you, a lesson QAnon supporters learned for the umpteenth time when at least 100 conspiracists gathered in Dealey Plaza in Dallas on Tuesday. The die-hards — who have kept the plot in the air despite its likely architect bailing on Q after the Capitol riot — traveled to the place where John F. Kennedy was assassinated 58 years ago this November in the hope that his son, JFK Jr., would appear and reveal himself as their no longer anonymous leader.

Like many of their prior hopes, this was a forlorn dream, as John F. Kennedy Jr. died after crashing his six-seater plane in the Atlantic off Martha’s Vineyard in 1999. But as reporter Steven Monacelli documented, scores of people began arriving before the alleged 12:29 p.m. resurrection to witness the fulfillment of the online prophecy.

It was a dud, which should have been expected. Q even told followers in an official 2018 drop that JFK Jr. was not alive. But that didn’t stop rallygoers from wondering if they saw other deceased celebrities — like Robin Williams, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Michael Jackson — joining them at the rally. In the end, all they got were their “Trump-JFK Jr. 2021” T-shirts and an ouroboros moment for American conspiracism: Q followers rooting for the return of an idol, gathering at the same time of day on the grassy knoll where his father was killed in an event that opened decades of speculation about the mysterious factors surrounding his assassination. The clock passed 12:29, and the crowd lingered in the afternoon rain.