A constant sense of loyalty to the marginal motion of online conspiracy known as QAnon fits into a common thread among many men and women across the country arrested for their involvement in the fatal uprising of the U. S. Capitol, court records reveal.

The FBI first called QAnon and its fluid online network of supporters as a “dangerous extremist group” in August 2019, and in the past two weeks has been prominent in criminal charges filed against many of those allegedly affected on January 6. in the Capitol, adding several felonies.

Among them is Douglas Jensen, the bearded guy seen in a viral video dressed in a unique “Q” T-shirt, threatening a lonely black police officer at the U. S. Capitol while driving troublemakers down the aisles and pushing the crowd into the Capitol. Jensen then told investigators that he “intentionally positioned himself” towards the front of the crowd to make his T-shirt visual for the cameras and “Q” simply “get credit,” according to an FBI affidavit.

Cleveland Meredith Jr. , who the government also believes supports QAnon’s theories, reportedly posted online his preference for executing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, “putting a bullet in the head on live television. “according to court records. Washington, DC, armed with multiple firearms and more than 2,500 rounds of automobile bridges in his possession, according to prosecutors, was delayed at the rally because his car broke down.

At least three other defendants on Tuesday are believed to be supporters of the QAnon theory, according to new FBI records.

The top profile of QAnon’s supporters in the Capitol riots re-displays what experts describe as an astonishing evolution of an innocent marginal forum for others selling extravagant plots to a gathering area for those who intend to plan domestic terror, and transformation can simply provide a thorny new law enforcement challenge.

“We don’t have an intelligent predictor of the direction this will take,” said Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor and local terrorist team expert who called it “extremely embarrassing” to see some elected officials fan the flames of QAnon’s distorted theories.

“You have elected members of Congress who, at best, don’t convict Q, and at worst defend some of the nonsensical conspiracy theories, harmful conspiracy theories,” McCord said.

Two newly elected members of the House of Representatives conducted QAnon’s messages before the 2020 election. In particular, President Donald Trump downplayed questions about QAnon when he was pressured on the factor before the October election, he knew “nothing” about it.

“I know they’re way against pedophilia, they’re fighting it very hard,” Trump said, refusing to condemn false theories on an occasion on the city corridor on October 15.

A few weeks earlier, at a press conference at the White House in August, the president said QAnon’s inhabitants “love the country” and added that he appreciated his, which in turn helped build confidence in the movement.

“He said many things without saying much. For many of us fans, we knew he couldn’t really pass out and say, ‘Oh, yes, I’m him,'” Gina Sink, 55, QAnon er of Lexington, North Carolina, told ABC News at a Trump rally in September following the president’s comments.

“After the November 3, 2020 election, many QAnon members began to push false and discredited theories about the great electoral fraud and the fact that the 2020 election” robbed “President Trump,” the Justice Department warned Tuesday in a new affidavit.

On January 6, QAnon’s influence on the troublemakers was reflected in the mountain of videos and images on social media describing his foray into the Capitol complex. Several troublemakers were seen dressed in “Q” clothing and chanting slogans similar to the movement. Bulletin ready through the FBI for law enforcement partners, federal agents reported that “symbols relevant to QAnon conspiracy theories” were widely displayed among protesters.

In the allegations, federal prosecutors noted QAnon’s obvious influence among several participants accused of violently threatening the siege.

Jacob Chansley, the horned helmet troublemaker and one of the highest identified incidents, is also said to support QAnon’s theories.

“Chansley is an active actor, and has the ultimate vital symbol, of a violent insurgency that attempted to overthrow the U. S. government on January 6, 2021,” government prosecutors said, using some of his highest open words to date to describe the mutiny.

The January 6 attack proved fatal for at least two QAnon members. Rosanne Boyland, 34, who allegedly ran over the crowd at the Capitol complex, had recently begun following QAnon’s conspiracy theories online, her sister later told The Associated Press and Ashli Babbitt. , who shot dead through a U. S. Capitol police officer inside the Capitol, then described in an FBI bulletin as “alleged supporter of QAnon. “

QAnon, which first emerged in 2017, is based on the baseless theory that Trump is fighting a global network of billionaire paedophiles, devil-loving Democrats, and bath-devouring Hollywood stars and their opposing numbers in the “deep state” embedded in the expanding us federal government bureaucracy. Usa. . . A fan-developing organization fed and contributed to false narratives first on free social media known as 4chan, and then on other social networks, driven by what they believe were clues to “Q,” a secret intelligence. official idea would leave clues about government corruption. It is not transparent if “Q” exists.

Many claims are obscure and extravagant, and for years, adherents to theory have been noted primarily as marginal and as a significant threat. They had a “keyboard bully,” as one FBI special agent said last week, and the darkest corners of the web were confined.

But recently, many violent incidents have been linked to other people who theories QAnon, and recent votes recommend that conspiracy theories are achieving a wider audience than previously thought. For example, more than one in three Americans think that “deep state” is running to undermine Trump, some other unfounded conspiracy commonly sold through QAnon users, according to an NPR/Ipsos vote conducted in December.

For law enforcement officials seeking to prevent long-term violent attacks, the QAnon boom presents new challenges. The government guilty of tracking online extremism will need to know how to assess and combat emerging conspiracies without violating constitutionally protected freedom of expression.

“We want to separate the wannabe from the intentional and find out which of the Americans who say despicable things on the Internet are simply practicing bravado on the keyboard or intend to hurt,” FBI agent Steven D’Antuono said in a press. briefing last week.

Following the attack on Capitol Hill, the FBI prepared a document for law enforcement partners to identify QAnon’s “flags” online, defining the words and hashtags used across their followers. But the document also notes that “the FBI does not initiate any investigative activity based solely on the exercise of First Amendment activities. “

In a separate newsletter distributed to law enforcement partners on January 13, the FBI warned that QAnon conspiracy fans feel emboldened after the perceived “success” of the Capitol assault.

“Some [domestic violent extremists] see the January 6 occasion as a success, along with the option to exploit legal meetings and upcoming ideological engines, adding conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, will most likely also motivate some [violent extremist domestics] and others to engage in more sporadic, remote or small cell violence,” the bulletin warns.

Before the endowment, law enforcement officers largely monitor the risk posed by QAnon-aligned “lone wolves. “The Washington Post reported Monday that the FBI had privately warned their spouses’ agencies that QAnon members had returned to Washington for Joe Biden’s oath. , posing as National Guard soldiers.

Alex Mallin of ABC News contributed to the report.

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