Rally In Support Of Capitol Attackers Draws A Small Crowd

WASHINGTON A far-right rally in support of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 fizzled out amid fears that law enforcement might track the extremists who showed up for it.

Members of the media and law enforcement outnumbered the far-right insurrectionist supporters who showed up near the Capitol on Saturday to protest the hundreds of arrests that have been made in connection with the Jan. 6 riot that is linked to the deaths of five people and the injury of more than 140 law enforcement officers.

The organizer for the Justice for J6 rally, former Donald Trump campaign operative Matt Braynard, had previously said he expected up to 700 people to show up for the rally. Instead, it appeared that fewer than 100 people showed up to protest the arrests of Capitol attackers. The rally wrapped up by about 2 p.m. local time.

Among those who did show up was a man who sang a song about Ashli Babbitt , one of the people who died on Jan. 6 after she was shot by a law enforcement officer when she tried to climb through a broken window to reach lawmakers being shepherded to safety inside the Capitol.

This guy has a song about Ashli Babbitt. pic.twitter.com/lN9em24VVU

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This guy has a song about Ashli Babbitt. pic.twitter.com/lN9em24VVU
Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) September 18, 2021

Another man, a 70-year-old retiree named Gary who declined to give his last name, told HuffPost he wasnt surprised to see such a small turnout.

Theres more law enforcement here than there are demonstrators, he said. Thats absurd.

Protester says hes not surprised by poor attendance at J6 Capital rally because there was lots of chatter on the internet about it being a government set up.

Theres more law enforcement here than there are demonstrators. Thats absurd. pic.twitter.com/cI7XOWkMpG

Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) September 18, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Igor Bobic","author_url":"https://twitter.com/igorbobic","cache_age":86400,"description":"Protester says hes not surprised by poor attendance at J6 Capital rally because there was lots of chatter on the internet about it being a government set up.Theres more law enforcement here than there are demonstrators. Thats absurd. pic.twitter.com/cI7XOWkMpG Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) September 18, 2021\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":2048,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_lDYQbXEAMQ0nE.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1536,"title":"Igor Bobic on 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Protester says hes not surprised by poor attendance at J6 Capital rally because there was lots of chatter on the internet about it being a government set up.

Theres more law enforcement here than there are demonstrators. Thats absurd. pic.twitter.com/cI7XOWkMpG
Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) September 18, 2021

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Right-wing researchers like Jared Holt had said that online chatter among extremists suggested few people would show for fear of a trap by law enforcement. Far-right figures, including Gab CEO Andrew Torba and QAnon conspiracy leader Ron Watkins, encouraged their followers not to attend for fear of as Torba put it becoming a political prisoner of the state.

Members of the violent gang the Proud Boys also opted not to show, with one member suggesting that the rally sounds like bait, Holt pointed out in his Substack newsletter.

As he was leaving the rally, Braynard told HuffPost he had no idea how many people had attended.