Established D.C. insiders planned rallies that led to Capitol riot
Robert O Harrow Jr., The Washington Post
Jan. 17, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail 5
1of5Supporters of President Donald Trump gather at D.C. s Freedom Plaza on Jan. 5.Washington Post photo by Matt McClainShow MoreShow Less
2of5A Trump supporter protests at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5.Photo for The Washington Post by Astrid RieckenShow MoreShow Less
3of5
4of5Trump supporters pray during a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5.Photo for The Washington Post by Astrid RieckenShow MoreShow Less
5of5
WASHINGTON - The fiery rallies that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 were organized and promoted by an array of established conservative insiders and activists, documents and videos show.
Republican AGs Cannot Shake Ties to Violent Trump Coup Attempt
Trump loyalists fueled by President Trump s continued claims of election fraud clash with police on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
By
The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) is trying desperately to distance itself from the attempted coup by white supremacists and Trump supporters on Jan. 6, but it cannot hide from the fact that its actions helped fuel the violence that left at least five dead, many more injured, and the Capitol badly damaged.
RAGA was a member of the “March to Save America” coalition that organized the Jan. 6 rally in D.C. to overturn the presidential election results. Its former chair, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, spoke at the rally alongside President Trump. And its dark money partner, the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF), ran robocalls ahead of time explicitly urging protesters to march on the U.S. Capitol.
Gold cautions that one should never call it just “the vaccine,” though. “Always use the word ‘experiment’ when you talk about this. Always,” she told an enthusiastic audience in Rodney Howard-Browne’s church in Tampa Bay, Florida, on January 3. “The socialists win the language wars.”
Howard-Browne’s church is an apt setting for this latest battle in the war over the language and science of the coronavirus pandemic. An evangelist who has laid hands on President Donald Trump, Howard-Browne has been sharing Covid-19-related conspiracy theories with his followers since at least March, when he told them that vaccines for the coronavirus would “kill off many people” and that Covid-19 is a “phantom plague” designed to shut down churches. Howard-Browne was arrested and jailed in March for violating safety codes by encouraging his followers to shake hands public health restrictions that he said were for “pansies.” Prosecutors later dropped the charges becaus
January 11, 2021 - 7:48am
The astroturfed #StoptheSteal group that drew thousands of Trumpists to the Washington, D.C. rally on Wednesday that turned into a violent insurrection at the Capitol has strong ties with the influential Christian Right Council for National Policy.
The rally, like many other #StoptheSteal events held since the election of Joe Biden, gathered right-wing extremists who believe the lies spread by Trump and complicit politicians that the election was fraudulent in order to demand that Congress ignore its obligation to certify the Electoral College votes and overturn the election.
At least five members and leaders of the Council for National Policy (CNP) worked to turn out MAGA extremists and were scheduled to speak at the rally after Trump exhorted the crowd to march on the Capitol.
January 7, 2021
A Sinclair report gave pro-Trump insurrectionists a pass by broadcasting a lie that far-left infiltrators attacked the Capitol.
The claim by James Rosen aired on at least 14 Sinclair-owned or -operated stations in at least 18 states.https://t.co/IRmJFMqVBM Media Matters (@mmfa) January 7, 2021
It’s not like these Q-anon cracker bozos are listening to NPR and just coming up with different conclusions than normal people.
They are living in a different world.
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove: As an investigative reporter, you’ve written a book that takes readers into the heart of the institutional network that connects the Religious Right to the NRA, the Federalist Society, right-wing media, and the Republican Party. It’s a wild ride. What got you started on the path that made it possible for you to write this book?