Woman Trampled In Capitol Riot Was QAnon Follower

The Associated Press reports:

Before she died in Wednesday’s siege at the U.S. Capitol, Rosanne Boyland was a recovering drug addict who wanted to become a sobriety counselor. But she also believed, wrongly, that President Donald Trump won the November election, and she’d begun following a dark conspiracy theory that has circulated online, her family said.

“It just spiraled,” her sister, Lonna Cave, said Friday outside her home in suburban Atlanta. The sisters clashed over Boyland’s political views and the QAnon myth, which includes wild allegations of a child sex ring. Boyland had begun following the conspiracy theory over the past six months, Lonna Cave said.

Boyland explored its baseless accusations that online furniture retailer Wayfair was part of the fictional ring, her sister said, and her faith in conspiracies spiraled from there. Boyland’s Facebook page featured photos and videos praising Trump and promoting fantasies, including one theory that a shadowy group was using the coronavirus to steal elections.

Read the full article. Boyland was reportedly trampled to death in the crush on or near the Capitol steps while carrying a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag. Her final post was a retweet of a photo posted by Trump social media director Dan Scavino, which showed thousands of protesters at the Washington Monument.

“I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking (on top of her),” Winchell said. “There were people stacked two- to three-deep … people just crushed”https://t.co/XcVAEpWnG3

— Vivian Schiller (@vivian) January 9, 2021