US braces for #JusticeforJ6 rallies supporting pro-Trump rioters
Al Jazeera
Supporters of former president claim people arrested for invading the US Capitol on January 6 are ‘political prisoners’.
United States Capitol Police and the FBI are on high alert ahead of a rally in Washington, DC, planned on September 18 to demonstrate support for people arrested after the January 6 pro-Trump riot at the Capitol – an event that continues to shape American politics.
The protesters’ message: the January 6 rioters arrested in the breach of the Capitol are “political prisoners” who are being unfairly prosecuted by the FBI and the Department of Justice. They contend Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter and QAnon adherent shot by police while part of a mob storming the Capitol trying to get to legislators, was wrongly killed on January 6.
Organised by a former staffer for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign and labelled with the hashtag #JusticeforJ6, the rally in Washington, DC, has a permit allowing 500 people to gather.
