CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An Instagram account best known for identifying Jan. 6 rioters turned its attention to an 11-year-old boy from Shelby this week after he won a costume contest at his school.
“Homegrown Terrorists,” grabbed a screenshot of a post originally made by Brandon Gosey on Facebook featuring the child’s photo. The child was dressed up as the QAnon Shaman who stormed the Capitol, with face paint, a horned headdress, and a homemade podium.
Gosey is listed as the athletic director at Pinnacle Classical Academy in Shelby and says the 11-year-old is his student. Pinnacle Classical Academy is a public charter school.
Gosey posted two photos on his Facebook account Oct. 28 and mentions the child won first place in a costume contest for his age group.
“He’s a free thinker with his own opinions and beliefs. Every child deserves the same opportunity,” Gosey wrote.
The Instagram post has since received nearly 25,000 likes and almost 2,000 comments. Most of the comments were against the costume and some called for Gosey to be fired.
Gosey did not respond to The Charlotte Observer’s request on Monday for comment. Pinnacle Classical Academy hung up on a phone call from an Observer reporter seeking comment. The school did not respond to an email.
The child’s mother, tagged in Gosey’s post, confirmed in Facebook comments the boy in the photos is her son. She said the costume was meant to make fun of the shaman.
“Imagine being so offended by my son’s Halloween costume you need to come to a stranger’s profile and make comments about an 11 year old,” the mom wrote. “Don’t make comments on my child. Don’t like me? I don’t care. Think I’m a terrible Mother? Fantastic thanks for your opinion. You don’t get to comment on my child.”
The boy’s mother did not respond to Observer requests for comment.
“What in the Dollar Tree Jesus is this mess?” one person with the handle @lindamnit commented. “It’s child abuse.”
Another comment asked if Hitler won second place in the costume contest. Others say the child is too young to be blamed and his face should have been blurred.
Gosey sits on the Rutherford County Board of Education, and this isn’t his first time drawing criticism on social media. The Shelby Star reported that in 2018, he issued a public apology after sharing a meme mocking Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who made allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The child was dressed up like Jacob Chansley, a.k.a. the “QAnon Shaman,” who stood out with his outfit — he was shirtless, donned face paint and a horned headdress — during the surge into the U.S. Capitol.
Chansley is among one of almost 900 arrests — including at least 25 North Carolinians— tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, violence in which thousands of Trump supporters overran the Capitol to stop congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win.
Five deaths have been linked to the riot. Some 140 police officers were injured, and $1.5 million in damages to the Capitol occurred.
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(Charlotte Observer staff writer Mike Gordon contributed to this article.)
