Who was in the crowd that stormed the Capitol? Images from the event featured an array of far right emblems. @AllMattNYT and I decoded some of the most prevalent symbols to explain what they stand for. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/video/extremist-signs-symbols-capitol-riot.html

At first glance, the crowd was covered in Trump-themed merchandise: everything from flags, T-shirts, hoodies, jerseys, mugs to — of course — MAGA hats. Other items were a bit more outlandish, like this flag portraying President Trump as Rambo.

But there were other logos that pointed to people’s beliefs, like the Roman numeral III. That's the emblem used by a militia known as the Three Percenters. Other militia members on the ground belonged to the Oath Keepers. Both groups are anti-government and pro-gun.

We saw a big contingent in the crowd identifying as Proud Boys, a violent far right group. In warmer months, they can usually be spotted wearing black and yellow Fred Perry polos. Here, some of them are flashing an “OK” hand-sign that has become associated with white supremacy.

There were also people from the alt-right there. Some wore Pepe the Frog masks. Others carried flags of 'Kekistan,' a fictional country that’s used to troll liberals. The design is partly derived from the Reichkriegsflagge, a war flag of Nazi Germany.

One of the less obvious flags was this one reading “WWG1WGA.” It stands for “Where We Go One, We Go All” — a slogan used by followers of QAnon, a conspiracy theory that falsely claims Trump was elected to vanquish a deep-state cabal of leftist pedophiles.

Another extremely prevalent symbol was the skull-like insignia of the Punisher, a crime-fighting Marvel comic book antihero. It has become a popular emblem across the far right in recent years and is sometimes used by police officers to signal one another without wearing badges.

Among the more quizzical patches I saw while pouring over hours of footage, was one labelled "Zombie Outbreak Response Team.” The group's website describes its members as “preppers and survivalists preparing for all worst case scenarios.”

There were many other symbols, and this is not an exhaustive list. But the variety shows one thing: A consolidation on the right, with everyone from Trump supporters who believe the election was stolen, to those on the outright racist fringes standing shoulder to shoulder.