Keith Scott says January 6, 2021, was "the best day" of his life.
The 49-year-old had arrived in Washington, DC, as a member of the "Cease the Steal" motion, which believes former President Donald Trump's lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and marched to the U.S. Capitol with them.
"I felt like a patriot that was standing beside our Founding Fathers talking up in opposition to King George," Scott advised CNN in an interview on the one-year anniversary of the revolt.
A yr on, Scott is blunt in regards to the motion he was part of, calling it a cult. His story is sophisticated -- he nonetheless believes a lot of the "Cease the Steal" propaganda, for instance -- however his journey is illustrative of how People like him, who stated he had by no means attended a Donald Trump rally, get caught up in a motion primarily based on misinformation and the way it takes over their lives.
Scott, who was dwelling on the south facet of Atlanta through the 2020 election, was indignant at Fox for calling Arizona for now-President Joe Biden, so he began listening to Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist who had Trump on his present in 2015. Scott heard an advert for a "Cease the Steal" caravan, so he went to see it in Atlanta.
That was only the start. He spent the following few months dwelling principally in his automotive, driving by means of the night time and throughout the nation to virtually each "Cease the Steal" rally.
"I felt like we have been doing one thing," Scott stated. "If nothing else, we have been displaying patriotism, as a result of we have been standing up for -- whether or not we have been proper or not -- we felt like we have been standing up, making our voices be heard."
There is not any proof of widespread election fraud within the 2020 presidential contest, and Biden's victory within the Peach State has been affirmed by each hand and machine recounts. Trump and his allies' efforts to throw Trump a victory within the state are the topic of a prison probe from the district legal professional in Scott's house of Fulton County, who has stated she's probing "his makes an attempt to affect the administration of the 2020 Georgia normal election."
There have been a number of instances Scott stated he thought he was achieved protesting, solely to be reeled again in. He missed Thanksgiving along with his household, partially, he stated, as a result of they objected to his hanging round so many individuals with out masks as COVID-19 surged by means of the nation. After a protest in Lansing, Michigan, he was able to drive again to Atlanta, when somebody advised him the "Cease the Steal" web site had been up to date: in 36 hours, they have been to have an occasion in Phoenix, the place Rudy Giuliani -- Trump's one-time lawyer -- would supposedly current proof of election fraud.
He was off to Phoenix, the place he was starting to study in regards to the fringe teams and characters that began to connect themselves to the "Cease the Steal" motion. He says he heard Jacob Chansley, the "QAnon shaman," who has since been sentenced to 41 months in jail for his position within the revolt, deal with the group.
A buddy of Scott's on the protest stated to him, "These Q individuals are nuts." Scott performed alongside. "So I am going, 'Yeah, the Q individuals are loopy.' ... I simply needed to appear like I used to be within the know. I did not know what Q was."
Earlier than lengthy, he was driving 30 hours to a different rally in Alpharetta, Georgia. At this level, Scott stated, "I used to be not in command of my actions." He was addicted, he now says. "I felt like I wanted to be there. I felt like my voice mattered."
And he stored pondering he'd quickly hear the proof he was searching for -- from Giuliani, or Trump-connected lawyer Sidney Powell or Trump's former nationwide safety adviser Michael Flynn. "The folks that have been giving proof of election fraud, so to talk, it was the identical message that we had heard a day earlier than or weeks earlier than. It was, 'It is coming. It is coming. It will be revealed,'" Scott stated. "Simply maintaining us holding on for the following breath."
He did maintain on, lacking Christmas along with his household that yr as he traveled to Washington, DC, forward of January 6. On the day of the riot, he ended up close to an entrance on the west facet of the Capitol. He watched individuals battle with police, smash home windows and climb inside. Scott stated he didn't go contained in the Capitol, and he has not been contacted by the FBI. As of Tuesday, 209 individuals have pleaded responsible to Capitol attack-related prices. Greater than 700 have been charged.
Scott says he noticed "dangerous" issues that day "no matter which facet you are on." However he added that "the individuals that truly, , had bodily confrontations with law enforcement officials, they need to be held accountable for that." And he stated he did marvel on the time, "How far is that this gonna go? How does this finish? This does not finish nicely."
When it was throughout, he visited a buddy in Texas, the place he stated he stored muttering to himself that he felt like he simply obtained out of a cult. His buddy recommended perhaps he had. A pair days later, Scott determined to put in writing a e book referred to as "Election Fraud Cult," which he is hoping will assist warn individuals about becoming a member of related actions.
"My level is to look out for individuals," Scott stated, noting he'd met individuals who misplaced their jobs or have been estranged from their households as a result of they spent all their time on "Cease the Steal."
"Whether or not it is politics or one thing else, do not get so caught up that you just're not making your individual choices anymore."
Keith Scott at a "Cease the Steal" rally in 2020. (Courtesy of Keith S. Scott)
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