The “Unity” of Radical Belief
What do January 6th, The People’s Convoy, “Take Our Borders Back”, and the Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo have in common? It turns out, a lot.
In the wake of the Jan 6 insurrection, a vast coalition has continued to form on the right—an eclectic mix of Christian nationalists, conspiracists, anti-government zealots, and large swaths of the New Age wellness community. Despite differing beliefs and multiple fringe subcultures, they’ve found shared goals. They come together like a giant online trade show, each with its own booth: QAnon-inspired conspiracists next to New Age spiritualists, stationed by evangelicals, just a few steps from the Proud Boys—one virtual marketplace of extremist ideas.
It’s easiest to see these ties by following the organizers and speakers who’ve emerged since January 6, as “movement builders.” Let’s start with Kim Yeater, an organizer of the 2024 border convoys in California, Arizona, and Texas. Yeater spoke at the Yuma rally, where she dehumanized migrants and praised Jesus. She rose to prominence by denying the 2020 election results and serves as an “Awaken Church Pathfinders Team Lead” in San Diego. On her “Take Your Power Back” podcast, she’s interviewed the “QAnon Shaman,” Dr. Stella Immanuel (the so-called “demon sperm doctor”), and Lance Wallnau, a Christian extremist pushing “Seven Mountain” dominionism.
Yeater is connected to prominent anti-vaxxer Leigh Dundas, who was a featured speaker at the 2024 Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo. Dundas, a self-described “human rights” attorney influenced by QAnon conspiracies, is also a Scientologist. At the Expo, she hawked her book and charged extra for a session on “5th Generation skills to vanquish the enemy at our gate” and winning the “war on freedom.” Dundas made her name in 2020, blasting mask mandates and vaccines with a bullhorn across California. When she wasn’t confronting local officials, she was on the road with anti-vaxxers and Q-adjacent acts like Clay Clark’s “ReAwaken America” tour.
In 2022, Dundas organized a California-to-DC “Freedom Convoy,” inspired by Canadian truckers. Like Yeater, she’s also a vocal supporter of Jan 6. Both believe it was a “set-up,” a good-versus-evil battle, and label those arrested for storming the Capitol as “political prisoners.” Dundas participated in DC on Jan 6, so her sympathy isn’t surprising.
The 2024 Conscious Life Expo also featured other right-wing fixtures, such as Del Bigtree—a high-profile anti-vaxxer who spoke at a medical “freedom” rally in DC on Jan 6—and Sacha Stone, a British conspiracist and “spiritual guru” with ties all over the right. Each operates in a particular lane, but they inevitably merge on a giant freeway of extremist ideology.
This shared space—this “trade show” of the right—survives on a simple rule: don’t question fellow attendees. Maybe you dislike overt bigots, but you’re not leaving because they’re there. At the trade show, you wander from booth to booth, sampling what’s offered, skipping what you find distasteful, and picking up a pamphlet from anyone who shares your broader goals.
Many in this coalition talk about looming apocalypse scenarios. Some cite the Book of Revelation, others predict a vibrational shift to the 5th dimension or an alien awakening, and still others expect a race war or enemies being executed publicly. The specifics vary, but the sense of a coming cataclysm is universal—so they prepare for it.
For the last few years, I’ve immersed myself in right-wing online spaces and gotten to know multiple women arrested for Jan 6. Almost without exception, they’ve only doubled down on their beliefs since storming the Capitol. Millions of Americans—and millions more worldwide—now subscribe to conspiracies or prophecies so far-fetched it’s hard to imagine what they wouldn’t believe. The question is: how far will they go for those beliefs? Because once everyone’s at the trade show, there’s no telling which booth they’ll visit next—and what pamphlet they’ll walk away clutching.
