CNN correspondent recounts the assault from within 1:45
(CNN) -
The mob of Donald Trump supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday included conspiracy theorists linked to QAnon and the Proud Boys, two far-right factions that President Donald Trump repeatedly refused to condemn. during his election campaign last year.
The insurrection at the heart of American democracy, incited by Trump's rhetoric, represented an impressive show of force for the fringe movements and their supporters.
After agitators invasion the Capitol, Congress certifies Biden's victory: minute by minute
One of the most recognizable figures in the videos and photos of the chaos on Capitol Hill was a man in his 30s with a painted face, a fur hat and a helmet with horns.
QAnon on Capitol Hill
Jake Angeli and others confront United States Capitol police outside the Senate room on January 6.
The protester, Jake Angeli, known to fans as QAnon Shaman (the Shaman of QAnon), quickly became a symbol of the strange and terrifying spectacle when photos of him circulated walking the halls of the Capitol holding an American flag taped to a spear in one hand and a megaphone in the other, and even standing shirtless on top of the Senate bench.
Angeli, who lives in Arizona, could not be reached for comment, but her cousin, Adam Angeli, confirmed that the man with the horns was her relative, in a brief call with CNN on Wednesday.
Adam Angeli said he thought his cousin might be changing jobs and that "he's a patriot, he's a very great kind of person in America."
PHOTOS |
Pro-Trump protesters break barriers and enter the Capitol
Jake Angeli's Facebook page is full of posts evoking the conspiracy theories of QAnon, whose followers believe in an absurd theory that there is a clique of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who have infiltrated the highest levels of government. and oppose President Trump.
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Pro-Trump agitators chase police on Capitol 1:39
Some of Angeli's Facebook posts have a violent tone, like a meme that declares "we will have no real hope of surviving the enemies set against us until we hang the traitors lurking among us."
A photo on Angeli's Facebook page shows him decked out in fur and horns, pointing a rifle at the camera.
In recent months, Angeli has had a regular presence at pro-Trump protests in Arizona, including rallies outside the Maricopa County vote-counting center.
Other agitators photographed on Capitol Hill wore QAnon icon clothing and carried signs with slogans associated with the bizarre movement.
Proud Boys
CNN has identified Nick Ochs in a crowd of protesters who stormed the Capitol building during a joint session of Congress on January 6.
Also among the agitators who took over the Capitol was Nick Ochs, founder of Proud Boys Hawaii, a chapter of the far-right group.
"Hello from the capital hahaha," Ochs tweeted Wednesday, taking a selfie of himself smoking a cigarette in the building.
"We didn't have to break in, I just went in and recorded," Ochs told CNN in an interview Wednesday night.
“There were thousands of people there, they had no control of the situation.
They did not arrest me or question me.
This was the police response to black protesters on the streets of Washington last year
Ochs ran an unsuccessful campaign for the state legislature last year, gaining the endorsement of Trump's confidant Roger Stone, who recorded a video with him.
He stated in the interview with CNN that he was working as a professional journalist when he entered the Capitol, and that he did not enter any congressional office or the cameras.
Moment of a shot inside the Capitol 0:42
One far-right activist on Capitol Hill Wednesday was Tim Gionet, who live-streamed a video of himself inside the building for more than 25 minutes, according to multiple screenshots of the recording shared on Twitter.
Gionet, a prominent extremist voice who goes online by the pseudonym "Baked Alaska," attended the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, said Hannah Gais, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization.
Gais said he monitored the live broadcast.
Gionet has been suspended or banned from various online platforms.
He could not be reached for comment.
Richard "Bigo" Barnett
Richard "Bigo" Barnett sits in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 6.
One of the most widely shared photos of the chaos showed Richard "Bigo" Barnett, the leader of a gun rights group in Gravette, Arkansas, lounging in the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, feet on a desk.
Barnett, 60, later showed reporters outside the Capitol an envelope that he said he took from Pelosi's desk.
"I didn't steal it," he said of the envelope, which was addressed to another member of Congress, in a video posted on Twitter by a reporter for The New York Times.
"I left a quarter on your desk even though it's not worth it."
He said he also left a note on his desk that said "Nancy, Bigo was here, f *** a" and claimed it was doused with a chemical.
They secure the Capitol building;
there are 4 dead
Facebook videos that appear to have been posted by Barnett on Wednesday show him walking near the Capitol.
A photo posted that morning of him wearing an American flag was captioned, "It's time," and previously asked for prayers "as we do our best to protect our patriots in DC."
Barnett could not be reached for comment.
CNN's Blake Ellis, Melanie Hicken, Curt Devine, Scott Glover, and Yahya Abou-Ghazala contributed to this report.
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