The projection never ends.
Unconsciously, they know that they might have been brainwashed and need deprogramming, but when they start pondering the issue, they get afraid and nervous. When this happens, they unconsciously employ a defense mechanism in which they shift the blame (i.e., project) to others as being the ones in need of deprogramming.
In some ways, one might consider this an "unraveling" or "fraying" of the brainwashing process.