Former Trump Supporter Involved in Capitol Riots Says She Was 'Brainwashed' Into a 'Cult'

Cancer survivor and former MAGA Pam Hemphill called former president Donald Trump a 'master manipulator' and 'king of gaslighting' during an exclusive with CNN. The January 6 rioter who completed her prison term for her involvement termed MAGA a 'cult' that 'brainwashed' her. Hemphill was taken into custody on several counts following the signing of a guilty plea to unlawful entry into the Capitol. She received a term of two months in a California federal prison. "He's just a master manipulator. He doesn't believe anything. He just thinks he's smart enough to pull the wool over you. But there's people like me waking up and do you feel the former president's responsible for that? Absolutely. He's the king of that gaslighting. It's a cult," she said. 

Hemphill warned Trump not to use her name in the riot narrative in the future, "Don't be using me for anything. I'm not a victim of January 6th. I pleaded guilty because I was guilty. I am not a victim of the government. The Justice Department was not weaponized against me I was a participant. We broke the law and she talks about the Capitol Police in her speech in the crowd. I was pushed down. My head was trampled on. My shoulder pulled out. The Capitol Police saved my life that day. I want them to know how truly grateful, I am to them and how deeply sorry I am. For what happened and how they continue to be treated to this day." 

According to NPR, Hemphill blamed Trump for what happened to her after hearing about his indictment news in 2023, "I want the world to know that I followed a cult leader, and I'm really sorry that I did because I'm really ashamed of it. But it's something I got to forgive myself. But I can't blame me 100% because I was lied to by Trump." Hemphill said that she had fallen victim to what she refers to as "the Trump cult."

Her brother bought her a plane ticket to Washington, D.C., so she decided to go to the Jan. 6 demonstration as a self-appointed “citizen journalist” and videographer. He was attempting to cheer her up while she battled breast cancer. “My brother calls, says, ‘Hey, you, since you’re going to start chemotherapy, why don’t you go see Trump and video-record that?’” she told The Daily Beast. “I said I couldn’t afford it. But he said, ‘I’ll give it to you for a Christmas present.’”

Hemphill later regretted her decision. “You don’t see it as a cult when you’re in it,” she said. “You don’t recognize it.” She claims that during the mad dash into the Capitol building, she still had 40 sutures in her breast from her operation. She feels that she was spared major harm by one of the officers and remains grateful to this day for having her life saved.