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In a report published at Medium by the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, Jacob Chansley, better known as the "QAnon Shaman," had a small but growing online following as a "QAnon micro-influencer." But after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol -- which he partook in and was later arrested for -- viewership of his content skyrocketed.
"Before January 6, Chansley's two Twitter accounts, @USAwolfpack and @starseedacademy, registered roughly 5,400 and 2,800 followers respectively," DFRLab reports. "Chansley, who also went by the name Jake Angeli, began by cultivating his brand on YouTube, as YouTube suited the long-form format of his videos. He would later migrate to alt-tech platform Rumble following de-platforming, as many QAnon influencers did after major social media platforms begin enforcing their rules more stringently against them."
<p>The Trump-supporting conspiracy theorist apparently had a perverse incentive to become involved in the Capitol riot. After analyzing his social media history, DFRLab found that Chansley saw a rise in engagement "that correlated with a rise in the amount of Q related content he was involved in."</p><p>"Perhaps most alarming is that the Q-Shaman brand appears to have benefited from his action at the Capitol," reports DFRLab, adding that the YouTube subscriber count associated with Chansley's "spiritual guidance" channel, Starseed Academy (SSA) grew substantially in the wake of the Capitol attack. "As Chansley leaned into posting more extreme content, the channel's subscriber count grew as well."</p><p>Chansley was charged in January with "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds."</p><p>In a statement, the the US attorney's office for the District of Columbia alleged that Chansley was "the man seen in media coverage who entered the Capitol building dressed in horns, a bearskin headdress, red, white and blue face paint, shirtless, and tan pants," while carrying a long spear with an American flag tied to it.</p><p>Chansley's seeming resemblance to singer Jay Kay sparked a worldwide buzz on social media, prompting the Jamiroquai frontman to issue a statement making clear that he was nowhere near Washington when the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.</p><p>Chansley had described himself as a "digital soldier" of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory that claims Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.</p><p><em>With additional reporting from AFP</em></p>
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WATCH: Amy Klobuchar destroys Ron Johnson for conspiracy theory blaming Jan. 6 on 'provocateurs'
March 03, 2021
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Wednesday pushed back against Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-WI) conspiracy theory claiming that insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 were simply "provocateurs."
At a joint Senate hearing on the Jan. 6 attack, Johnson focused on proving his earlier claim that the incident does not qualify as an "armed insurrection."
<p>
"Seeking out the truth, that's what I'm trying to do," the senator explained, noting that he had been accused of spreading "conspiracy theories" after reading a conservative column into the record at an earlier hearing. The column used the phrase "agents-provocateurs" to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/23/politics/ron-johnson-january-6-capitol-attack/index.html">downplay the role of supporters of then-President Donald Trump</a>.
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At Wednesday's hearing, Johnson again entered a news report into the record claiming that the attackers were "provocateurs."
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But Klobuchar, who was chairing the hearing, refused to let the remark slide.
</p><p>
"These people that were assaulting the Capitol in military gear and were pinning an officer between a door and were using bear spray on officers in the Capitol, would you title them provocateurs?" Klobuchar asked FBI Counterterrorism Division Director Jill Sanborn.
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"It would all depend on the evidence behind the case," Sanborn hedged.
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"Do you think there were some very serious violent people involved insurrection?" Klobuchar pressed.
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"100%" Sanborn agreed. "And there were some officers that were injured and a lot of damage was done."
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"And would you describe the atmosphere as festive?" the senator wondered.
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"Absolutely not," Sanborn said.
</p><p>
Watch the video below.
</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/581LewmEOTM" width="560"></iframe>
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Former president Donald Trump has been served with a civil rights lawsuit that accuses him of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.
Attorneys for Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and the NAACP formally served the lawsuit, which was filed in February, to the former president at his Mar-A-Lago club, reported The Daily Beast.
<p>"Donald Trump has to go away," <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/naacp-trump-lawsuit-bennie-thompson/" target="_blank">Thompson said last month</a>. "If he doesn't, we will put him out of business."</p><p>The suit alleges that Trump incited the riot at the U.S. Capitol with his false claims about a "stolen" election, which the complaint says amounted to a conspiracy under the 1871 "Klan Act" to interfere with civil rights by stopping the certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College win.</p><p>The complaint names Trump, along with his attorney Rudy Giuliani, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, as defendants.</p><p>No attorneys have stepped forward as Trump's representative in the lawsuit, which was signed for by someone named "Ricky" when it arrived at Mar-A-Lago by certified mail.</p>
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