A QAnon promoter stormed the Capitol. Now, he’s upset people are saying he’s ‘antifa’

A well-known QAnon promoter has learned first-hand what it feels like to be accused of being someone you are not.

Because of his flashy costume, the so-called Q Shaman has become a photogenic fixture of QAnon rallies — and he found himself an even bigger platform on Jan. 6 when images of him breaking into the U.S. Capitol were seen all over the world. Shirtless, face painted and sporting a furry hat, he is unmistakable.

Except, it appears, to the conspiracy theory ecosystem he is part of.

The Q Shaman is an Arizona man named Jake Angeli, who has been vocally and publicly in favor of President Donald Trump and a slew of far-right conspiracy theories for years. He’s also, as his name indicates, a big QAnon believer. QAnon adherents believe a secret military operation is currently in play to take down the satanic, occasionally cannibalistic, group of pedophiles who make up the global elite. Although QAnon welcomes and incorporates almost any old-school conspiracy theory you can think of — anti-Semitic tropes, JFK conspiracy, anti-vax pseudoscience, etc. — its unifier is Trump, who believers insist is integral to taking down the deep state.

Angeli has sported his distinctive look in Arizona since at least 2019, when he hit the media’s radar for appearing at pro-Trump and QAnon rallies. From the Arizona Republic:

“Angeli, in a 2020 interview with The Arizona Republic, said that he wears the fur bonnet, paints his face and walks around shirtless with ragged pants as a way to attract attention. Then, he said, he is able to speak to people about his beliefs about QAnon and other truths he says remain hidden.”

Despite his well-documented history as a Trump supporter, on Wednesday night the right-wing media ecosystem turned on him. Lin Wood, the lawyer behind several failed suits to overrun the presidential election, tweeted a photo of Angeli and others who broke into the Capitol with the caption, “Indisputable photographic evidence that antifa violently broke into Congress today.” The tweet is no longer available as Wood’s Twitter account was banned.

The talking point was also picked up by Pastor Mark Burns, another big name on the pro-Trump social media circuit. “This is NOT a Trump supporter…This is a staged #Antifa attack,” he tweeted with a photo of Angeli posing on the Senate dais.

Angeli himself responded to the Wood tweet, trying to clarify that he is, in fact, pro-Trump.

“Mr. Wood. I am not antifa or blm,” he wrote. “I’m a Qanon & digital soldier. My name is Jake & I marched with the police & fought against BLM & ANTIFA in PHX. Look up OAN’s coverage of July 4ths rally in PHX capital. I was standing against the BLM mob out numbered but unphased. Look it up…”

Conspiracy theories about antifa, which is an ideology that opposes fascism not an organized group, have quickly gone mainstream on the right. By Wednesday evening, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., was already on the floor of Congress repeating it.

“Some of the people who breached the Capitol today were not Trump supporters,” he said. “They were masquerading as Trump supporters and in fact, were members of the violent terrorist group antifa.”

There is no evidence “antifa” infiltrators were part of the mob that broke into the Capitol. Accusing left-aligned groups of terrorism is a well-trod path for conspiracy theorists, who point to fictional “false flags” meant to discredit conservatives. The deflection is proactive as well as reactive; InfoWars host Alex Jones regularly warns his listeners that staged terrorist attacks are constantly on the horizon, planned by their enemies to pin on “patriots.”

The unsubstantiated antifa claim was amplified last night by Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, and on Thursday morning, Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, was tweeting it, too.

“Please, don’t be like #FakeNewsMedia, don’t rush to judgment on assault on Capitol. Wait for investigation,” he wrote. “All may not be (and likely is not) what appears. Evidence growing that fascist ANTIFA orchestrated Capitol attack with clever mob control tactics.”

In fact, there are thousands of videos and photos, many taken by the Trump supporters themselves, showing proud Trump fans wandering the building. Other well-known far-right personalities, like infamous alt-right troll Baked Alaska, were actually livestreamed from inside Senate offices.

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Huron Daily Tribune can be found here ***