American Jewish Congress Report Ties Capitol Storming to Neo-Nazi, QAnon, and Antisemitic Activity

The American Jewish Congress is pleased to announce the release of a special report entitled “Capitol Storming: Neo-Nazi, QAnon and Antisemitic Online Chatter.” This report is part of an American Jewish Congress initiative to combat domestic terrorism, especially that which stems from white supremacist activity and Antisemitic extremism.
 
This report provides in-depth analysis of the online chatter that took place in the immediate aftermath of the storming of the Capitol by far-right extremists on January 6th. Specifically, an analysis conducted after the attack of 24,000 right-wing Twitter accounts showed that 6% of these users engaged in insurrectionist discussion and that 40% of them were associated with the Antisemitic QAnon movement.
 
As explained in the report, Antisemitism was pervasive throughout both the in-person and online activity surrounding the attack. The report provides multiple specific examples of such Antisemitic activity, which was a feature, not a bug, of the day’s violence.

The report can also be viewed below in two online versions. The first is an illustrated version matching the downloadable PDF. The second is a text only version for accessibility. 

Capitol Storming – Illustrated Version

Capitol Storming – Text Version

NEO-NAZI, QANON & ANTISEMITIC ONLINE CHATTER

The storming of the Capitol on January 6th by militant supporters of President Donald Trump featured several instances of Antisemitic agitation, from an extremist Holocaust denier who helped ransack House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) office to various individuals who displayed far-right and neo-Nazi slogans and symbols.

The Telegram account ZoomerWaffen posted a photograph of the Capitol with a superimposed Jewish star of David. The account name itself is a combination of the popular video conferencing platform Zoom and the Waffen-SS, the “Armed Protective Squadron” of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary. The Waffen-SS was heavily involved in the commission of the Holocaust and supplied guards for the concentration camps.

“ReformTheStates” posted an image featuring a silhouette of a person holding up the severed heads of both President Biden and President Trump. The background is made up of repeated text saying “death to the system, there is no political solution”. Behind the silhouette’s head is the Black Sun (“Schwarze Sonne”) a Nazi symbol increasingly used by neo-Nazis as a substitute for the Nazi Swastika. The text accompanying the image attacks President Trump suggesting he is a stooge for Israel. Another message by “ReformTheStates” showed an American flag with the stars replaced by an Israel flag. An imagine of a man dressed in black with a mask hiding all but their eyes and a rocket propelled grenade over their shoulder is standing in front of the flag with a Black Sun symbol behind their head. The post too is calling for armed revolution.

The account uses the antisemitic echo, the triple parenthesis uses by antisemites to indicate a Jew, in the name of the account itself. This account, “Jesus warned us about (((them)))”, posted a series of pictures of the Capitol attack the comment “You are next kikes!!!” this was followed by an emoji of a gas pump and the text “Fuck Jew rats. Get out of our country”.

Another post features a man at the riot wearing a hoodie that featured a skull with the words “Camp Auschwitz” above it and “Work Brings Freedom” below it. The text below is an English translation of “Arbeit macht frei” which was the text across the top of the entrance gate to Auschwitz. Over 1.1 million men, women and children were killed at Auschwitz.

SYMBOLS & SLOGANS USED BY NEO-NAZIS & QANON

A photo shows a hand holding a card in front of the camera with the capital in the background. The card reading “NSC-131 2020” is from the Nationalist Social Club a neo-Nazi group with chapters across the United States and a smaller presence in France, Hungary and Germany. The social media post with the card is followed by the caption, “The US Capitol building is now a 131 Zone”. The group is know for putting up posters and stickers claiming control of spaces where they have a presence.

Another photo shows the back of a person in a leather jacket. The jacket has a giant Q on it. Above the Q is the text “Anons” and below it “1972”.

In telegram the “Only White Lives Matter” account circulated an image of a man looking confused at a piece of paper. The caption read “All the seized government paperwork is in Hebrew?” This promotes the popular far-right conspiracy theory of Jewish control of the U.S. Government.

The Telegram account Pax Aryana forwarded a meme from the account EuropaWave which depicted the black sun behind the Capitol building, the words “White Revolution” superimposed on it, and the caption “The only solution…”.

In our online monitoring we also observed the following: •Multiple strong neo-Nazi imagery, including a range of images of the Capitol with a Black Sun behind it, and calls to both “Tear it down” and for a “White Revolution.” •A Celtic neo-Nazi cross flag displayed inside the Capitol. •People in the Capitol wearing Nazi and neo-Nazi symbols and phrases on their clothing. •White nationalist groups from across the country glorifying their presence in the Capitol by showing photos of their presence in the Capitol on their Telegram channels. •Call to action for “Boomers” to arm themselves, saturated with Nazi symbology. •Efforts to spread fake news slogans to promote the narrative that the Capitol infiltration was a False Flag operation by Antifa. •In the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, chatter in unmoderated open-source online channels spiked, publishing alarming antisemitic and anti-Israel content, including death threats, calls for Jews to leave America, and depictions of Jewish symbols and Holocaust-related references.

Bottom Line: Antisemitism was visibly present in the attack on the Capitol. It also has a growing presence in online content which has been shared about the attack.

QANON INSURGENCY & CONSPIRACY ON TWITTER

Analysis of over 24,000 right-wing Twitter accounts during January 6^th – 7^th show 6% engaged in insurrectionist discussion and 40% of those were associated with QAnon. Conspiracy theories presenting the Capitol Storming as a false flag operation by ANTIFA / the “Deep State” were common. Many of these accounts have since been suspended by Twitter.

One account tweeted, “Yesterday was an INSIDE job @SpeakerPelosi, we KNOW. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, NOTHING will stop what is going to happen next… you and your d.s thugs will look awesome in orange.” The reference to an inside job is reminiscent of 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Another account tweeted, “It was Antifa dressed like Trump supporters that stormed the Capitol. Question them. What about Hunter Biden’s emails. The Fake Russia hoax on Trump with no EVIDENCE. What about big tech interfering in our elections. Fake news and you democrats started it.”

A third account tweeted, “Did someone order a 2^nd revolution to go brother?” The tweet continues, “Jan 6, 2021 / WWG1WGA!” a call out to QAnon using their slogan “Where We Go 1 We Go All” (WWG1WGA), then adds “Whether we have enough honest people in gvmt to expose the Biden lie or not, we know the truth: we elected Pres Trump to 2^nd term. We will not allow an enemy occupation of the White House.” The message is followed by three fists and three American flags then the Trump slogan “MAGA” (Make America Great Again). This message of the Biden administration being the “enemy” and talk of a “second revolution” is a doubling down on the insurrection of January 6^th.

Other examples of tweets from accounts that are now suspended included: •“It was a planned false flag and Pelosi and Pence were in on it. Wake up.” •“…We are at RED3. Meaning Pelosi or Pence moved. RED 2 they cut communication then RED 1 they will delete Trump’s Twitter. It’s been told to us before. We know the plan and it’s playing out perfectly. THE STORM IS ARRIVIN” •“False Flag underway. Regain Initiative. Far-Near recognition signals. More violence at dark. Re-establish narrative control.” •“This false flag was completely orchestrated! [redacted] and the Patriots are in full control! WWG1WGA” •“Oh is this not the woman they sent out on a gurney with fake blood? I hope she didn’t really die but I truly believe its a hoax. So much of this is a false flag event, staged by Soros. Don’t be fooled.”

Bottom Line: Following the attack on the Capitol there are efforts to double down and intensify the insurgency as well as misinformation efforts presenting news of the insurgency as “fake news” and the attack as either being a staged event or something that should be blamed on the political left.