Mob at U.S. Capitol encouraged by online conspiracy theories
CHICAGO (AP) — Every video the Louisiana man posts on Twitter and Facebook starts with a big smile and a wish for his thousands of followers to have a blessed day.
But as he drove to the nation's capital Tuesday morning, he grew loud and angry talking about the presidential election.
"You aren't going to wake up and see?" Christian Suprean, 42, said in one of a dozen videos that together have drawn more than 30,000 views on Twitter in recent days. "I think we won everything. I think we won everything!"
Suprean is one of thousands of President Donald Trump's fiercest supporters who, fueled by dozens of internet conspiracy theories about the November election, responded to online cries to join a "fight" on the president's behalf Wednesday. In posts liked and shared thousands of times, far-right social media users openly hinted for weeks that chaos would erupt at the U.S. Capitol while Congress convened to certify the election results.
Despite those warnings that disgruntled crowds of Trump supporters were headed for Washington, a mob seized control of the Capitol and vandalized the building, sending members of Congress into hiding for several hours. Lawmakers from both parties have pledged to investigate law enforcement's actions and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed the melee.
"It's what brought them out to the streets yesterday — that's how they found information about where to gather," Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation expert at the nonpartisan Wilson Center in Washington, said of the social media posts. "Yesterday, the effect of disinformation, conspiracy theories and extremism was on display for the entire world to see."
The president encouraged his Twitter and Facebook followers to attend Wednesday's rally, at times using warlike imagery to urge supporters to show up. Minutes before they stormed the Capitol, Trump pressed his hopeless case to overturn the election in front of the crowd in a speech laced with conspiracy theories.
"The (cavalry) is coming, Mr. President," said one of the president's retweets on Jan. 1 sharing details about the rally.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Suprean said Trump's calls on social media motivated him to drive 15 hours from Slidell, Louisiana, to Washington. He documented the trip and rally with videos and photos — all taken from outside the Capitol building — that he shared on his Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, where he regularly references QAnon and has a strong following from QAnon accounts. QAnon is a baseless belief, born on the internet, that Trump has been secretly fighting deep state enemies and a cabal of Satan-worshipping cannibals operating a child sex-trafficking ring.
Dozens of QAnon social media accounts spent the days leading up to the D.C. rally hyping up Jan. 6, expressing hope that the election results would be overturned.
QAnon's influence was evident as the mob descended on the halls of Congress. Police…
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