Looking more closely
at the scenes of insurrection at the US Capitol,
we started noticing dozens of symbols everywhere.
The details of what people wore and carried
revealed a deeper story about possible future threats.
We combed through hours of footage
and found evidence of a complex network of groups
driven by conspiracy theories, white supremacy,
and a Trump-infused brand of Christianity.
We love you. You're very special.
USA! USA! USA!
As some tried to break open Capitol doors,
these men push their way through the mob
wearing yellow logos on their jackets.
The Oath Keepers are one of the largest
anti-government militia organizations in the US today.
And they claim to have tens of thousands
of law enforcement officers
and military veterans in their ranks.
They vow to protect America
from what they call the "New World Order."
A future where the government imposes martial law,
seizes guns, and throws resistors into detention camps.
Their patches warn "not on our watch."
These men were a Roman numeral three.
That's the emblem of the Three Percenters.
The group promotes a myth that only 3% of American colonists
fought to overthrow the British,
and that they are the modern-day defenders
of our Constitution.
They deny being a militia on their website
but are often seen heavily armed.
And then there's the Kraken.
The legendary sea creature has become a rallying cry
for people who believe
there's a trove of evidence that will soon be released
to expose massive voter fraud and other plots against Trump.
Also hailing from imaginary lands
is the green flag of Kekistan.
It's a fictional country that started as an alt-right meme,
an inside joke to mock the political correctness
of liberals. But it has dark undertones,
and it often flies at neo-Nazi gatherings.
We don't see any racism. We all stand together.
I'll stand with all you.
Trump supporters and many of these groups
often deny that they are racist.
But the visual evidence on display
at the Capitol said otherwise.
An OK hand gesture hijacked to read "WP" for "white power,"
a neo-Nazi tattoo, a camp Auschwitz sweatshirt,
and a gallows built that day to frame the Capitol.
Hang the traitors! Hang the traitors!
Let's get at them! Let's go, come on!
It looked like a scene
from "The Turner Diaries,"
a novel that the Anti-Defamation League calls a blueprint
for a white supremacist revolution.
In the story, the heroes slaughter race traitors
like journalists and politicians
on what is called the Day of the Rope.
Every single bastard in there is a traitor,
every single one.
String them up!
The only one who stands up for us is Donald Trump!
That's right.
They're all crooked.
We should get rid of all of them.
This is our chance.
Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
Leading up to this day,
some in the far-right conspiracy movement QAnon
openly called for violence.
At the Capitol, their Q symbol stood high above the crowd
and popped up again and again.
Do not let them normalize pedophilia.
Believers, including some members of Congress,
push a false conspiracy theory that Democrats, Hollywood,
and the elite are child sex traffickers,
and that Trump rose to power to stop them.
No more satanic pedophiles.
Many saw January 6
as the moment they'd been waiting for,
an event they called the storm,
when corrupt enemies would finally be punished.
Lose your job!
All these politicians work for us.
What's the penalty for treason?
Death.
Death!
USA! USA!
And there was this man, known as Q Shaman,
who has become a mascot of sorts.
His tattoos appear to be images from Norse mythology,
including a hammer of Thor
and a triangle associated with the afterlife.
The triangle known as Valknut
has been used by white supremacists before.
Whose house? Our house!
And then here was the so-called "zip tie guy"
photographed here in the Senate chamber.
One of his American flag patches had a rifle,
the other the Marvel comic book character the Punisher.
It's been popular among soldiers and police officers
at least since the Iraq War,
and groups across the far right have also adopted it.
Whose streets? Our streets!
The Proud Boys marched outside
with orange armbands and megaphones
after their leader said they'd show up in record numbers.
One of them even posted a selfie from inside the Rotunda.
And for the first time in US history,
the battle flag of the defeated side of the Civil War
entered the Capitol.
Many now see it as a racist symbol tied to slavery.
USA! USA! USA!
One symbol from the past was hard to miss.
The Gadsden flag was originally designed
during the American Revolution.
It became popular within the Tea Party movement.
Conservatives and libertarians use it as a symbol
for gun rights and to protest government overreach.
There was also the Betsy Ross flag of the 13 colonies,
a few from the former country of South Vietnam
as a sign of anti-socialism,
and "Thin Blue Line" flags in solidarity with police.
Trump is president! Christ is King!
And with so many religious references,
it was sometimes unclear
whether they represented any organized group.
This "Armor of God" patch refers to a biblical verse
that describes spiritual warfare against rulers,
authorities, and the forces of evil.
The tens of thousands of people who showed up
were motivated by different causes.
Most did not enter the Capitol.
And some may not even understand the full meaning
behind the symbols they carried.
But one core belief seemed to unite them all.
Stop the steal! Stop the steal!
The completely false idea
that Trump actually won the election,
despite all the evidence that the opposite is true.
We had an election that was stolen from us.
And by playing on the fears
and passions of his supporters,
experts say he's managed to rattle our democracy
in ways that may take decades to repair.
Do not stop.
So when Trump said the words ...
Go home and go home in peace.
... many worried
that peace might not come so soon.