'It'd be best if we didn’t talk for a while': Capitol riot victim alienated friends and family with QAnon conspiracies

In a deep dive into the life of Rosanne Boyland, who dies during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, The New York Times reports that the circumstances of her death mystify her family. They -- as well as many of her friends -- hadn't stopped talking to her before she made her fateful trip to Washington D.C. that ended in her death.

According to the report, it was first believed that the 34-year-old Georgia woman, who was spotted waving a Gadsden flag on the Capitol grounds, was trampled to death in the rush towards the halls of Congress. However, "the autopsy by the Washington medical examiner's office did not find evidence of trampling and concluded that she had overdosed on amphetamines."

While her family questioned the report, they did admit that she had a history of drug abuse.

Those close to Boydland recall the months ahead of the attack and the way in which she bombarded them with long videos that were filled with "fantastical theories" that others understood to be absurd but that she found as fact.

"Ms. Boyland's sudden fixation so alarmed her family members and friends that some of them asked her to stop talking to them about politics — or just to stop talking altogether," said the Times.

"Some of her closest friends believe that Ms. Boyland was a vulnerable target for the conspiracy theorists," the report continued. "After a stint in drug rehabilitation, she had returned to her parents' home and largely avoided drugs for several years, her family said. But the isolation brought about by the pandemic was making it harder. QAnon filled a void in her life, they said, helping distract her from thoughts of returning to drugs even as it acted as a different kind of hallucinogen."

Her sister was fearful that Boydland was swapping one addiction for another, with obsessive behavior over the QAnon videos and theories.

"QAnon filled a void in her life, they said, helping distract her from thoughts of returning to drugs even as it acted as a different kind of hallucinogen," said the report.

When she decided to go to Washington to protest the 2020 election results, she brought her Adderall prescription she took daily. According to the medical examiner, there was no evidence that she was trampled to death. Instead, it appeared that she might have taken twice her prescribed dose of Adderall.

The family is still desperate to understand the details about what happened that led to the drugs being her system.

Read the full report at The New York Times.