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- A leader in the QAnon conspiracy-theory movement was one of the rioters storming the US Capitol during Wednesday's coup attempt in Washington, DC.
- The so-called "Q Shaman" took photos on the Senate dais and marched through the Capitol with a megaphone.
- QAnon's presence at the riot comes after the conspiracy-theory community has been feeding voter-fraud claims to President Donald Trump for months.
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As supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol Building in a riot on Wednesday, one figure stood out among the mob: the "Q Shaman," Jake Angeli.
Known for wearing red, white, and blue face paint and a horned helmet, Angeli has become a notable figure in the QAnon conspiracy-theory movement, popping up at far-right rallies in Arizona in the last year, as The Arizona Republic reported.
On Wednesday, Angeli took photos on the Senate dais and marched through the Capitol with a megaphone.
Angeli's presence at the riot, along with others wearing QAnon paraphernalia, comes after the conspiracy-theory movement has been responsible for the popularization of Trump's voter-fraud conspiracy theories.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
QAnon, the far-right conspiracy theory baselessly alleging that Trump is fighting a "deep-state cabal" of pedophiles and human traffickers, has played a massive role in organizing nationwide "Stop the Steal" protests in the two months since President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
The so-called "Q Shaman" is one of many figures in the world of QAnon whose actions inspire and influence the movement. QAnon originated with an anonymous figure called "Q" who writes cryptic messages on the fringe message board 8kun (previously known as 8chan). As Q has become increasingly hands-off, giving fewer and fewer messages to his devotees, QAnon leaders like Angeli have gained notoriety and power in the movement.
—Steven Nelson (@stevennelson10) January 6, 2021
Later on Wednesday afternoon, Angeli reportedly grabbed a microphone outside of the Capitol and told people to go home, according to a tweet from Kevin Roose, a technology columnist at The New York Times.
As Trump seeks to undermine the election results, he has been getting much of his information on false voter-fraud allegations directly from the QAnon movement. The Dominion voter-fraud conspiracy theory, baselessly alleging that Dominion Voting Systems interfered with the election, was popularized by Ron Watkins, a previous administrator of 8kun. Watkins' father, Jim Watkins, has been suspected by some of being "Q" himself, or at least being associated with the figure (or group).
Wednesday's riot, encouraged by Trump as Congress met to certify the election results, included Trump supporters espousing QAnon, as well as other far-right extremist militants like the Proud Boys. Many popular QAnon accounts were celebrating the Capitol siege on Wednesday, believing that it was the first step in some kind of civil war.
Others at the riots were seen wearing QAnon paraphernalia. In one video shared on Twitter, a man in a QAnon shirt appeared to be one of the first in a massive group of rioters entering the Capitol.
—Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 6, 2021
Madison Hall contributed reporting.
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