Capitol Riot Images Analyzed as Social Photos and Alt-Right Visual Storytelling

Images from the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot function as social photos, serving as units of communication for participants rather than standalone media objects. The event featured theatrical photo opportunities, including Jack Angeli, a horned QAnon shaman, flexing in the Senate Chamber, and a rioter posing with feet on a desk in the House Speaker's office. These visuals, shared widely on social media, are analyzed through the lens of internet theorist Nathan Jurgenson's concept of the social photo. The riot's imagery incorporates symbols like the Viking tree of life tattoo and the Outsider's Mark from Dishonored, which act as visual signifiers within neo-fascist subcultures. Live streams, such as one by neo-Nazi Baked Alaska (Tim Gionet) from Nancy Pelosi's office, provided first-person perspectives. The pictures are seen as constructing a powerful folklore for far-right subcultures, akin to earlier symbols like Pepe The Frog, and are predicted to be venerated online for decades. The event resulted in five deaths.