Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America

by Will Sommer

Steinbart’s backstory as a superspy working for the military started to unravel after the indictment, when prosecutors were unable to find proof that he worked for his supposed employer, the DIA. But his name in QAnon had never been bigger. Thanks to the handful of videos he had posted before his arrest, he attracted more than 20,000 YouTube subscribers, plus roughly a dozen followers who showed up at his court hearings waving a Q flag. After one hearing, Steinbart was met outside by Jacob Chansley—the “Q Shaman” whose painted face and horned helmet would become infamous a few months later when he joined other rioters breaking into the U.S. Capitol. Chansley, already wearing the backwoods mystic by way of the World of Warcraft look destined for newspaper front pages and parodies, treated Steinbart like an elder statesman of QAnon. For his part, Steinbart—dressed in a suit for court and no face paint of his own—winced when Chansley gestured with his spear to emphasize his points about metaphysical truths and realms beyond our imagining.