So...I got a call today from one of the Jan 6 women I'm writing about. She started court ordered counseling last week & had been nervous. Today, she was thrilled to report that her new counselor is a QAnon follower and was "super excited" to finally meet a J6er. Not good.
For the past two and a half years, I've been learning the stories of middle-aged women who were convicted for January 6th, trying to understand who they are, how they radicalized, and the ways their beliefs have changed since January 2021.
🧵1/7
Many of the January 6 women I have been tracking continue to sink deeper & deeper into online conspirtuality. With the Conscious Life Expo a relatively short drive away, I went to learn more about what it's all about.
This is the first 🧵from a strange and disturbing weekend.
For the women I talk to, participation in online communities has become their identity. In these spaces they find the acceptance, belonging, and purpose that the real world no longer provides.
7/7
The women I talk to have a lifetime of trauma. Sexual abuse, family violence, and addiction are common. Mental health care is hard to find and often too costly. In many cases the result has been dissociation and delusion.
2/7
Their alternative realities have moved far beyond Donald Trump, QAnon, and the long-debunked myth of a "stolen election." Most have found "Conspirituality," a set of new-age-apocalyptic conspiracy theories based on ETs and "love and light."
3/7
They find comfort in authoritarian figures and conspiracy theories that make them feel like heroes and give them hope that things will magically be ok.
6/7
Some believe they are advanced beings sent to Earth to help "awaken" humanity. Two of the women I talk to identify as "starseeds." Another says she may be a "ascended master." Two more believe they are angels.
4/7
They spend most of their time combing social media for videos to post and messages to share. Their social networks are made up of virtual friends who share the same beliefs.
5/7
While sitting here watching the HBO series premiere of
#QIntotheStorm
, and I have come to a conclusion. My new "single-voter" issue is "free higher education for all." This shit is nuts.
@just_2028
This is a counselor assigned through this woman's local probation office. I don't know exactly how it works, but I'm guessing that counselors (not PhD) come from third parties & are probably not federal employees. Also, not sure how you screen for ideology if it's not obvious?
🧵This is a multi-part story about how mainstream media like CNN platform far-right women and their ideas by failing to consider that polite, nicely dressed, older white women can be extremists.
Rebranding the Maga Granny, Part 1
@pixiemenace
That was not how I had expected to feel when I first started this project, but that is where I've landed. It can be heartbreaking. That does not mean that I excuse bad deeds. It means I have empathy for the stories I've heard of lifelong trauma.
@Christo33114911
I approached the topic from an ethnographic perspective and chose a specific population/culture to observe (J6 women). The stories of trauma grew out of the population and the time getting to know them. I wasn't studying trauma.
@MacFarlaneNews
When you try to overthrow the government, seems to me that a healthy dose of public shunning should be expected. There's also a complete lack of remorse. All regret is focused on personal loss.
The Krassensteins are literally hosting an hours-long Q anon twitter space, where Jacob Chansley has been manically spewing a plethora of conspiracies for over an hour without interruption.
We arrived at the backside of the capital at 2:27pm 1/6/21.
Does this look like the law enforcement presence you’d expect after pipe bombs were found and an insurrection was taking place?
Other characteristics that point to being a Starseed: you’ve experienced major life trauma; babies, children & animals are drawn to you; you are empathetic & nurturing; you’re intelligent & love learning.
Turns out hyping Starseeds is a great recruiting tool aimed at women.
🧵I’ve spent the past eighteen months learning the stories of women who participated on January 6th and trying to understand who they are, how they radicalized, and the ways in which they have continued to radicalize since January 2021.
The overall sadness and desperation on display was apparent. I'm not talking about the old-school healers, sidewalk clairvoyants, and the odd old men with kooky pamphlets. I'm talking about the people who have convinced themselves they are Starseeds.
For an extra 20 bucks, participants could attend a Starseed panel to learn more about their celestial identity. The attendees (mostly women) felt "seen" when they were told that one of the most common characteristics of a Starseed was a “strong sense of an unfulfilled purpose.”
🧵What do January 6th, The People’s Convoy (truckers 2022), the Take Our Borders Back convoy (2024), and the Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo (the longest running New Age & Spirituality conference in the country) have in common? It turns out to be an awful lot.
One of the big drivers of rightwing extremism today are aspiring online influencers who try to gain followers by resorting to ever-more incendiary language & stances. This is the story of a woman whose desire for status & influence got her 18 months.🧵/7
No one at expo was particularly concerned about the breaking news of three separate UFOs being shot down over the weekend--because most of the people there were convinced that ETs have been living among us for thousands of years. In fact, many believe they themselves are aliens.
It's the mass disassociation. It's the open-minded ways that all these fantasy worlds can co-exist in one universe "down the rabbit hole"--a proud, self-owning statement of purpose and belief.
Thanks to
@ChristnNitemare
, this was the rabbit hole I chose to go down today. His name is Roger McDuff. I found the full clip, which includes Trinity Broadcasting Network co-founder, Jan Crouch. And I hate that I can't stop watching it.
@BraneDotOrg
True believers were the ones shelling out $95 x 3 for the day passes, and up to $85 on top of that for paid workshops, panels & speakers not included in the price of admission (at least 50% of the offerings). The grifters were on stage or in the exhibitor hall.
🧵Christian nationalism was at the heart of January 6. The signs, sounds, and symbols were everywhere. Small groups gathered, holding hands to pray often transitioning into worship songs. They carried flags and statues. Someone even brought a giant portrait of white Jesus.
@onemooreliz
I think about what happens to women mid-life. Many have experienced a loss of status or financial security through divorce. Their time is occupied with motherhood. Some are caring for parents now. It leaves many women isolated & online. So they follow what gives them hope.
🧵There’s a unity on the right that has grown out of the Jan 6 insurrection. Millions of people with a variety of extreme beliefs based in wildly different alternative realities have found common purpose. They come together in what looks and acts like a giant online trade show.
My research on women and rightwing extremism keeps leading me to a phenomenon I don't think is getting enough attention: tradwives. Short for "traditional wife," these anti-feminist accounts mostly pass under the radar because they don't advertise their radicalism.
-short🧵
Or other ancient intergalactic beings here to awaken us to the truth of our higher self as they usher humanity past the third dimension, where we will transcend the past, “heal soul wounds,” and embrace the divine matrix.
Let me get this straight:
The Capitol was stormed, an officer was killed, 2 more took their own lives, Pence & Pelosi were hunted, law enforcement was purposely understaffed, and hours went by while help was refused. And there’s a QUESTION about impeaching? How’s that possible?
@notcapnamerica
But good luck calling it out. When I was living in Baltimore County, we routinely had people talking about "thugs" and "trash" from "the city." I replied to a post using dog-whistles and explained coded language. I got put in a "time out" from using the app for being uncivil.
"The faces of private citizens captured on video will be blurred to protect them from retaliation..." Johnson said.
The unpaid intern replied, "Nah..."
Instead of properly vetting these women the media often lets savvy, experienced, far-right activists manipulate traditional gender roles to hide their long histories of bigotry and hate.
@DanRather
When I was a little girl in the 70’s, I believed that by the time I was an adult, our culture would have embraced equality. Now I am well into middle age, and I fear that I will not see authentic equality or equity in my lifetime.
@aggyp
@witchestruth
One woman I talk to is so lonely that she routinely hosts Mormon sisters hoping to convert her. She says that when she is bored of them, she will bring out her tarot cards.
Happy Birthday, Lola!
It’s a special day filled with treats and long walks for a very good dog (she’s so cute in her party hat, I had to share
@darth
).
The story is far more complicated. And that’s because Hemphill has a long history of far-right activism, deep bigotry, and even support for violence. She is nothing like the confused granny she portrays herself to be.
Over the next week, I will share a few threads that unpack the rebranding of MAGA Granny and reveal her attempt to reinvent herself by trying to erase her vile past, without having to answer a single question about it or her miraculous conversion.
(/9, end of pt.1)
@MacFarlaneNews
In court docs Bissey is quoted as saying “Best fucking day ever!! I’ll never forget. We got into the Capitol Building.”
In her hand written letter to the court she says how sorry she is.
But none of the remorse is directed toward the victims. Just how it has hurt her.
🧵Here is another example of far-right extremism hidden behind traditional images of white motherhood. This time it's recently sentenced, Felicia Konold, who joined a group of Proud Boys on Jan 6 to push through police lines & violently enter the Capitol.
Take the case of Pam Hemphill, the “MAGA Granny” who recently made headlines for turning on Donald Trump. The media let this 70-year old woman, who served a 60-day prison sentence for storming the Capitol, spin her conversion story without any pushback.
He faces up to 85 years in prison. He thinks he’s looking at more like 10-15. Either way, convicted felon Shane Jenkins has turned his Jan 6 status into a cottage industry.
That's not how prosecutors had described Hemphill at her May 2022 sentencing hearing. They said Hemphill's actions were "not the actions of a citizen journalist." And instead were "the actions of a rioter."
@Ponderosa1415
@pixiemenace
I don’t think they are victims. I’m trying to understand how so many women have turned to conspiracies to explain their lives. I’m sorry to hear about your trauma and glad you were able to choose healthier path.
Hemphill seems to give blue America what they have been waiting for: a sign that Trump’s followers might be starting to wake-up from his disinformation spell. But a simple Google search would have shown her tale was not the feel-good story she made it out to be.
@DanRather
I want to know why backup from outside agencies was not authorized until after 5pm. The former President chose not to send assistance. Even as people were killed. Inciting is bad enough...but what happened next is criminal. No help for hours.
Many media outlets and liberal podcasters jumped to book Hemphill. But they didn’t do their homework. Instead, they allowed her to frame herself as a naïve old woman who had been bamboozled by Trump & the MAGA movement.
I will definitely be celebrating today. My son is getting married! When he came out in 2011, we talked about hope for a near-future that this would be possible. Today, I am overwhelmed with joy that my child will marry the love of his life.
🧵On the large & growing fringes of the spiritualist movement are radical and radicalizing branches of new-agey millennialism. These people think something huge is coming--end of days, spiritual ascendance. And for all the talk of peace & love, there's a very dark edge to this.
In the CNN interview that aired in early July, the "mother and grandmother, Pam Hemphill, who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer" told the audience that she "enjoyed taking video of political events" & that she was at the Capitol "as a citizen journalist."
@ChangyMcSubject
@Ironhorse76
When we blocked it on my MIL’s TV, we told her that Fox changed its name to MSNBC. Last time we spoke to her in the phone, I heard Rachel Maddow in the background 😂
@Ponderosa1415
@pixiemenace
I think it’s important to understand for precisely that reason—what are the conditions that contribute to the desire to “tear it all down?” Why are people creating alternate realities, leaving families, and believing in ridiculous conspiracies?
🧵The women I study have a few things in common: They participated in the January 6 insurrection, they are white & middle aged, and they’ve become full-blown conspiracy theorists.
According to Jan 6 granny Pam Hemphill, Critical Race Theory is responsible for America’s racism. She calls it a “toxic ideology” that unfairly oppresses white people.
*If you plan to platform Hemphill, please take a look at this & consider asking some questions.*
🧵1/5
Where is the evidence for these claims? When conspiracies, disinformation & flat-out-lies are shared, it is important to counter them with facts. Now, more than ever, it is important to know who you can trust for accurate information. Short 🧵1/4
Millions of Americans (and millions more across the world) believe in outlandish conspiracies and prophecies with such fervor that it’s hard to escape the conclusion that they could be made to believe anything. The question is how far are they willing to go for those beliefs?
The tradwife nostalgic aesthetic is attracting new followers who, in a mere click of a link, can be transported to dark places. I'm creating some explainer threads to give a better sense about who these women are and why it's important to watch where their movement is heading. /6
@Michelle60711
@emc_mcdonald
She's not. I have been talking to her for going on three years. That is what I love about ethnographic research that takes place over time, you know when you are being lied to.
I have been immersed in rightwing online spaces for the last three years and have been talking with women arrested for their crimes on Jan 6. Almost to a person, they are deeper into their alternative realities now than they were when they stormed the Capitol.
Today's right is like a trade show held in a large virtual convention hall, with different booths and speakers. At this trade show, the conspiracists have a booth next door to the New Age spiritualists, who are next to the evangelicals, who are a booth down from the Proud Boys.
The goal within this far-right movement is to reject modernity, and escape the "city" to an imagined bucolic past where women serve their men, raise babies, homeschool, and live a “moral” Christian life of self-sufficiency within an all-white community.
My research on women and rightwing extremism keeps leading me to a phenomenon I don't think is getting enough attention: tradwives. Short for "traditional wife," these anti-feminist accounts mostly pass under the radar because they don't advertise their radicalism.
-short🧵
🧵When we watched the new HBO Love Has Won documentary, my husband was both alarmed & impressed at my ability to share stories about each cult member. That’s because about two years ago, one of the J6 women I study led me straight to the remnants of LHW.
Among the most disturbing parts of last weekend's Conscious Life Expo was the clear exploitation of children as "other worldly" mystic healers. And the hypocrisy of the Q-signaling adults who promote them.
There's all this untreated trauma out there causing people to disassociate from reality and see comfort in authoritarian figures and crazy conspiracy theories because it makes them feel like heroes. It gives them hope that things will all magically be ok if they follow the plan.
@notcapnamerica
Three pretty great things happened just in the last few months. I signed a book contract, filmed a documentary, and I got to meet someone I admire greatly,
@libradunn
!
Most of the women I talk to have a lifetime of unprocessed trauma. Sexual abuse, family violence, and addiction are common themes. Several women have complained that mental health care is hard to find.
🧵Pam Hemphill of Jan 6, demonstrates the sad absurdity of influencer culture. Her decade-long-quest for online fame has taken her on a strange, winding path. The only constant has been her desire for attn & access. That has trumped everything else, even her political beliefs.
Suzanne Kaye is a reminder of the participatory nature of online movements & identities. And how the destructive the desire “to go viral” can be to real world lives—like posting a video that threatens harm to LEO, all because you hope to get “TikTok famous.”
Their highly stylized photos and posts about the joys of serving their husbands, preparing meals from scratch, and making hand-sewn garments may seem harmless, but these accounts are enmeshed in a far-right network of fascist and white supremacist groups.
In each case, continued participation is less about ideology and more about maintaining identity in their online communities. The primary draw for each of the women I talk to is the feeling of acceptance, belonging, family, and purpose that these communities provide.
The trade show is held together by its primary rule: you don’t question anyone else at the trade show about their beliefs. You might not like the neo-Nazis. But you aren’t going home because they came to the party.
🧵Riley Williams, found guilty at trial for her participation in Jan 6, says she wants to live out her White nationalist agenda. Or she is epically trolling. Either way, a letter submitted to the court in advance of Wednesday’s sentencing, portrays her as a budding "tradwife."
Like most identities, there is no one-size-fits-all model of a tradwife, but there are a few things most of the accounts have in common. They fetishize nostalgia for an imagined simpler and more wholesome time.