While most of Donald Trump’s allies braced for the release on Thursday of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, believers in the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory approached the long-awaited publication with a sense of thrill.

For years, QAnon fans have been mocked for believing that Mueller was secretly in league with the president, working hand-in-hand to uncover Satanic rituals committed by top Democrats before shipping them off to Guantanamo Bay. They had been told it was ridiculous to base their entire political worldview on a series of anonymous clues posted on internet message boards — including one that claimed Hillary Clinton was secretly arrested in October 2017.

Now, after all the chanting and waving of “Q” signs at Trump rallies, their hour of vindication was at hand.