Brian Pace, writing for Psymposia:
In the 2009 Canadian film Wild Hunt, a live action role-playing game (LARP) goes wrong when a character playing Murtagh, a Viking shaman-king, abandons his real identity and takes psychedelic mushrooms with his companions, descending from play-fighting into into an orgy of real violence. Proving once again that life imitates art, those long-dismissed as right-wing patriot LARPers took over the United States Capitol building, resulting in the evacuation of legislators assembled to certify the election of President-elect Joe Biden, and four confirmed deaths at the time of writing.
Among the insurgents was a man dressed as an approximation of a patriot Viking shaman, wearing a horned headdress, red, white, and blue face paint, and sporting large black tattoos. He postured like a conqueror on the rostrum of the Senate chamber, in a fleeting moment of symbolic power. His name is Jake Angeli (born Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansely), also known as Yellowstone Wolf, Loan Wolf, and sometimes “The Q Shaman.” While Angeli was just one member of the group that stormed the Capitol, he is unique for being the only known self-ordained psychedelic guru of the bunch. His shamanic cosplay wasn’t just an act—it’s another example of the dangerous consequences of mixing psychedelics and far-right ideology.
There’s no denying that people all up and down the political spectrum use psychedelics, and Angeli’s just the latest example of the fact that right-wingers are also down to dose.
Having followed Psymposia’s previous work about the phenomenon of psychedelic use by the far-right, I can’t say I was too surprised to see this news, but it certainly doesn’t make it any less depressing.