She was in Trump’s Maga ‘cult’ – now she’s fighting far-right extremism

Penny Swan defected from the rightwing group that captured the local Republican party - and she won't be voting for Trump

While dozens of her neighbors piled into buses bound from Michigan for the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021, Penny Swan, a local Republican party activist and an outspoken Trump supporter, stayed home. But not for lack of enthusiasm: Swan wanted to join the throngs fighting to stop the certification of the 2020 election, but has a heart condition and worried about her ability to keep up.

Instead, she watched social media in awe, as her friends and neighbors surged toward the Capitol.