Pro-Trump Jan. 6 'Truth Rally' Sees Only Dozens Attend
Category: News & Politics
Via: jbb • 3 years ago • 10 commentsBy: Giulia Carbonaro (Newsweek)
Only small crowds gathered in front of the Capitol on Saturday for a pro-Trump Jan. 6 rally which the far-right blog The Gateway Pundit had said would be be "the biggest J6 to date."
According to reports, only a few dozen Trump supporters showed up for the "Truth Rally."
The rally, whose declared goal was "to stand united against the political persecution of the January 6th political prisoners" and against "conservative political persecution in the heart of the American Capital," was meant to attract the crowds with a series of far-right commentators, professors and conspiracy theorists.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, founder of Cowboys for Trump Couy Griffin and two journalists at The Gateway Pundit were listed as speakers.
Lindell, who was scheduled to make his intervention via a Zoom call, is currently under federal investigation for an alleged breach of election equipment in Colorado.
With videos showing sparse crowds, reporters at the scene said there were nearly as many counter-protesters in attendance.
Only dozens showed up at a pro-Trump Jan. 6 rally at the Capitol on Saturday. In this photo, a woman takes a photo before a Save America rally for former President Donald Trump at the Aero Center Wilmington on September 23, 2022 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Allison Joyce/Getty Images
"Counterprotesters just arrived and there's probably half as many of them as there are 1/6 Truthers. Was supposed to start at 1 and nothing yet," wrote NBC News reporter Ben Collins on Twitter.
At this January 6th "Truth" rally at the Capitol. Simply not a ton of people here, in the dozens.
Counterprotesters just arrived and there's probably half as many of them as there are 1/6 Truthers. Was supposed to start at 1 and nothing yet. pic.twitter.com/PJcbMnbpYW
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) September 24, 2022
A video shared by the journalist shows how relatively empty the Capitol grounds were on Saturday, with two small groups of counter-protesters and rally-goers facing each other at opposite ends of a street. Counter-protesters were chanting and beating buckets as drums to cover the voice of speakers attending the rally.
The Daily Beast' Zachary Petrizzo, also at the scene, shared a picture of a rally speaker talking in front of an apparently broken electronic backdrop, commenting that the event was "off to a rough start." Petrizzo wrote about the rally as failing "spectacularly."
The "Truth Rally" is off to a rough start as its electronic backdrop has some broken panels. pic.twitter.com/cfbkrmDbME
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) September 24, 2022
Most of the rally-goers were reportedly members of the 1776 Restoration Movement, who flew upside down American and "Let's Go Brandon" flags.
Upside down American flags are flying. pic.twitter.com/jFWrqOEIkG
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) September 24, 2022
The rally was framed in support of those who have been arrested following the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021, whom organizers referred to as "patriots" and "heroes." But Collins reported that the stance of the rally-goers and organizers regarding the Jan. 6 riots was overall confusing.
"Nobody at this January 6th Truth Rally has really settled on if the rioters are proud of it, if they didn't do it, or if they did it and it was a setup," Collins wrote on Twitter. "The theme is basically: There was no insurrection on January 6th, and we'd do it again."
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Collins also reported that the "loudest applause line today at this 1/6 Truth Rally was for a woman giving the URL for a site where you can buy "Abolish the FBI" tee shirts."
Demonstrators sing the national anthem and chant "USA" during a "January 6th Solidarity Truth Rally" to support people who have been prosecuted in the January 6th insurrection near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
More #GettyFootage@alexwongcw ➡️ https://t.co/DI3tVf7mOZpic.twitter.com/kq7cSmjWi4
— Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) September 25, 2022
The sparsely attended rally comes at the end of a difficult week for Trump, after New York attorney general Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the former president accusing him and his company to purposefully inflate the value of his properties, including his estates in Manhattan, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
The lawsuit could see Trump and his three eldest children barred from ever running a business in the state of New York again.
Trump has referred to the lawsuit as a "witch hunt."
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Trump still has "Dozens" of supporters? What is wrong with them?
And of course, all you get for the seed is deflection. Trump supporters apparently will attempt to defend / excuse him on every turn.
You've got it...
In other words it drew as many as a normal Biden or Hillary rally.
You'd think Biden could draw a crowd and not just because he's President. All the unintentional comedy should appeal to everyone.
“In other words…”
…in any words, in any context…just how, who, what, and why do you defend the indefensible?
"In other words" has been the trademark of the Biden admin after he speaks.
Nope, Biden has never drawn that many to a rally.
Hopefully this is an indicator that the GoP electorate is silently moving away from Trump (finally). That the MAGA wing of the GoP is waning and that the GoP will not continue to elect liars and/or morons who claim/think the 2020 election was rigged and that Trump should be followed and supported.
uh, I wouldn't hold my breath...