Biden inauguration leaves QAnon believers in disarray
Followers of the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory are split over how to react after Joe Biden's inauguration confounded their predictions that Donald Trump would remain president in order to punish his enemies in the "deep state".
Many reacted with shock and despair as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th US president.
"I just want to throw up," said one in a popular chat on the Telegram messaging app. "I'm so sick of all the disinformation and false hope."
For weeks, QAnon followers had been promoting 20 January as a day of reckoning, when prominent Democrats and other elite "Satanic paedophiles" would be arrested and executed on the orders of President Trump.
But, as Mr Biden took his oath and no arrests were made, some in the QAnon community had an uncomfortable meeting with reality.
"It's done and we were played," wrote another.
One popular Telegram channel reassured its 130,000 subscribers that Mr Trump and the Q team were still in control behind the scenes, and the "evil deeds" of the deep state would be exposed "over the next four years".
Some doubled down, criticising those who in their view had rushed to judgement.
One claimed Mr Biden was running his administration as an inmate inside a military compound, but he "doesn't know it yet".
As inauguration day drew to a close, QAnon communities were still filled with mixed emotions.
Some said they were waiting for "Q", who has been largely silent since election day, to post as they had so many unanswered questions.
And some expressed hope that Mr Trump would communicate directly with them soon.
However, a considerable chunk of the community remains steadfast in their belief, urging one another to remain patient and keep the faith.
It is difficult to predict where the movement goes from here.