‘Justice For J6’ Rallies On Saturday To Support Capitol Rioters

ACROSS AMERICA — Protesters are expected to gather in nearly a dozen states on Saturday to show support for the more than 600 people who have been arrested and charged in connection with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

“Justice For J6” rallies across the United States are planned to protest “the tyrannical and inhumane treatment of the January 6 political prisoners who have been targeted by the Department of Justice and the FBI,” according to the website for Look Ahead America.

The goal of Look Ahead America is to “organize and guide patriotic citizens” in lobbying their state legislatures and local governments on “America First initiatives” such as fighting corporate censorship and ensuring voter integrity, according to its website.

Saturday’s rallies are described as “peaceful protests,” and attendees have been asked to not wear clothing or carry signs supporting former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden.

“We request that anybody attending our events not wear any clothing or have signs supportive of either President Trump or Biden,” Matt Braynard, a former Trump campaign staffer and rally organizer, said in a tweet. “Anyone not honoring this request will be assumed to be an infiltrator and we will take your picture, find out who you are, and make you famous.”

The flagship rally in Washington, D.C., is expected to draw more than 700 people, according to Department of Homeland Security officials. The crowd is expected to be significantly smaller than the demonstrators who broke off from a larger rally and stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Republican lawmakers, eager to put the insurrection behind them, plan to steer clear of the J6 rally.

“There are a lot of clearly angry people who want to march on the Capitol,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican, told The New York Times. “I haven’t talked to a single Republican up here in the Senate that has encouraged or enabled anything like that.”

Facing its biggest test since the Jan. 6 insurrection, Capitol Police asked the Pentagon for more manpower. The National Guard will be on standby.

In response to the new threats, police also decided to reinstall security fencing around the Capitol. An increased law enforcement presence is also planned.

"We are here to protect everyone's First Amendment right to peacefully protest," Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said. "I urge anyone who is thinking about causing trouble to stay home. We will enforce the law and not tolerate violence."

In other corners of the internet, conspiracy theorists are targeting the D.C. rally, calling it a “false flag” operation by government officials to arrest more people involved in the Jan. 6 riot.

Many in extreme far-right Facebook groups and extremist forums are trying to steer others away from the rally, according to an NBC News report.

“Now explain how we’re supposed to protest without the FBI busting down your door and you ending up in a DC jail with no court date. I was at the Capitol on J6,” one user wrote on TheDonald. “Any protest after J6 is primed to be a false flag. And you can’t talk about that ‘next level’ here either without the feds busting down your door.”

However, at least one forum user encouraged others to engage in violence if they were going to be arrested anyway, NBC reported.