A man donned in fur and red, white, and blue face paint is quickly becoming one of the most prominent figures to come out of a chaotic night on Capitol Hill.
The horned demonstrator was identified as Jake Angeli of Arizona, a supporter of President Trump and a follower of QAnon, a conspiracy theory alleging several debunked ideas, including that a group of cannibalistic pedophiles run a deep state shadow government that opposes Trump.
Angeli, 32, has been heavily involved in local politics in his home state since at least 2019, where he promoted various conspiracy theories, according to a report by the Arizona Republic. He was firstly falsely accused of being part of the left-wing group antifa.
Angeli told the paper that he wears his signature outfit of a fur bonnet, face paint, and ragged pants with no shirt as a way of drawing attention to himself.
Photos of Angeli appeared in the same garment inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday night, where Trump supporters stormed the Senate chamber to object to Congress’s certifying the election results in favor of President-elect Joe Biden.
Last year, Angeli told a reporter from the Arizona Republic he is active in pro-Trump politics because it’s important for the president to know he has support.
“I think it’s important that the president of the United States knows that it isn’t just the opinions of people in the media that are out there,” Angeli said. “There’s good, patriotic Americans that see everything that he’s going through and are willing to stand up and say, ‘Hey man, I see what you’re going through. I salute you. Thank you for doing your job.'”
Angeli reportedly asked people in the crowd of a Phoenix Trump rally last February if they had heard of QAnon, holding up a sign that read “Q sent me.”
I’m seeing false tweets that Jake Angeli (aka “QAnon Shaman”) who was part of the group that stormed the Capitol and made it into the chamber, is Antifa.
He is very much a @realDonaldTrump and QAnon supporter, per my interview with him last year ?@azcentral https://t.co/S8luSxeHiO
— BrieAnna J. Frank ? (@brieannafrank) January 6, 2021
Angeli did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner.
Angeli was among hundreds of rioters who swarmed the Capitol, which escalated into violent clashes with police. Lawmakers and press were escorted to an alternative, safe location as protesters broke into the building. Several congressional offices, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s, were trashed.
Disrict of Columbia police said they have made 68 arrests, most of which were people not local to the area. Four people died amid the chaos. Angeli was not among those who were arrested.
The FBI is investigating who may have been involved in the violent activity in the Capitol.
