From Reuters:
“Amid high security, small
pro-Trump crowd rallies at U.S. Capitol”
Police vastly outnumbered
protesters around the U.S. Capitol on Saturday at a sparsely attended rally by
supporters of the people who breached the building on Jan. 6, trying to
overturn former President Donald Trump's election defeat. About 100 to 200
protesters showed up, some carrying the flags of the right-wing group Three
Percenters over their shoulders. It was far fewer than the 700 people
organizers had expected and the thousands who brought mayhem to the Capitol on
Jan. 6. Hundreds of officers patrolled the Capitol grounds and a black
eight-foot-high (2.44 m) fence which surrounded the white-domed building for
about six months after the attack was reinstalled in anticipation of the event.
One hundred National Guard troops were on standby. As part of an effort by some
of Trump's far-right supporters to rewrite the history of the deadly mob
assault on the Capitol that was captured in graphic video, speaker after
speaker insisted that hundreds of rioters arrested that day were "political
prisoners." Prosecutors and legal experts say the cases are being handled
properly. "This is about justice and disparate treatment," said Matt
Braynard, a rally organizer and supporter of Trump's false claims that his
defeat was the result of widespread fraud. While crowds were small, passions
rose at times, with sporadic yelling matches breaking out between participants
in the rally and counter-demonstrators. Police on bicycles moved in to break up
some of these squabbles. A group of police in riot gear removed one man from
the crowd who had a large knife strapped to his hip. Organizers of the
"Justice for J6" rally called for a peaceful event, but U.S. Capitol
Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters on Friday there had been threats
of violence linked to the rally, some targeting individual members of Congress,
and police were bracing to prevent clashes between Trump supporters and
opponents. Tony Smith, 40, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, said he had come to
voice his support for a fair judicial process for those charged in the breach
of the Capitol. "If we don't honor that we don't honor America," said
Smith, who was carrying a poster board that said "We Want Trump!"
HUNDREDS CHARGED IN JAN. 6
RIOT More than 600 people have been charged with taking part in the Jan. 6
violence, which followed a speech by Trump at a nearby rally reiterating his
false claims that his election loss was the result of widespread fraud. Those
claims have been rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members
of Trump's own administration. Rioters that day battled police, beating them
with sticks and metal barricades, smashed their way through windows into the
Capitol building and ran through the halls, sending lawmakers and then-Vice
President Mike Pence running for safety. Four people died on Jan. 6, one
fatally shot by police and three from medical emergencies. A Capitol Police
officer who had been attacked by protesters died the day after and four police
officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later committed suicide. Almost
50 people have so far pleaded guilty to charges related to the violence, nine
admitting to committing felonies. The vast majority of defendants have been
released awaiting trial but about 75 are still in custody, according to court
documents. Members of the right-wing groups the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and
Three Percenters are among those charged with storming the building. "Let
them go, let them go," the crowd occasionally chanted. But Eric Lamar, 64,
a retired firefighter in Washington, D.C., said he came to the Capitol to
counter "false narratives" from Trump supporters about Jan. 6."It
breaks my heart," Lamar said after hearing another retired firefighter
claim that the riot was a "false flag," a conspiracy theory wrongly
claiming that the event was staged. "There is no question that what
happened on Jan. 6 is the work of supporters of Donald Trump who decided
falsely and without evidence that the election was stolen." Unlike on Jan.
6, when Congress was in session to certify Biden's election, the Capitol was
largely empty on Saturday, with most members out of town. No members of
Congress attended Saturday's rally, though two Republican congressional
candidates addressed the group. Authorities, who had made clear they were much
better prepared after being caught without enough forces to deploy quickly in
January, took no chances. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put 100 National Guard
troops on standby to help police on Saturday if needed. National Guard troops
were stationed in and around the Capitol from early January through late May,
with as many as 5,200 troops in place at the mission's peak.
^ I would like to see a rally of
Americans to honor the 1 Police Officer killed and the 138 Police Officers
wounded during the January 6th Coup Attempt. ^
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