Jan. 6 rioters cast as 'patriots' by supporters who have raised millions - The Washington Post

This nightly supplication telephone featured one of galore enactment groups that person formed successful the 2 years since the convulsive mob — encouraged by erstwhile president Donald Trump — stormed the U.S. Capitol gathering and threatened the country’s peaceful modulation of powerfulness aft Joe Biden’s victory.

Right-wing supporters of the “Jan. Sixers” person formed supplication chains, instigated missive penning campaigns, organized vigils and raised millions for their ineligible defence — each with the purpose of supporting the 932 federally charged defendants they spot arsenic valiant patriots, prisoners of conscience persecuted for engaging successful their First Amendment rights.

They person persevered contempt almighty grounds to the contrary — including judges uniformly excoriating defendants, ongoing blameworthy pleas and investigations, arsenic good arsenic a caller legislature study showing the extremity of the violence, the item of the readying and the nonaccomplishment of Trump and different White House officials to quell the riot.

Since 2021, Jan. 6 defendants person raised much than $3.7 cardinal connected the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, according to a Washington Post reappraisal of accounts that stay public, and millions much have been raised by umbrella groups successful the sanction of the “patriots” — a flood of wealth that has raised concerns astir fairness and oversight.

“It’s astonishing that this question is truly increasing by leaps and bounds,” said Ned Lang, a erstwhile municipality councilman from Tusten, N.Y., whose son, Edward “Jake” Lang, pleaded not blameworthy to charges of beating constabulary officers with a shot bat during a lengthy assault. The Lang household has raised much than $335,000 done 2 GiveSendGo accounts, and Jake has his ain idiosyncratic adjunct to negociate his interrogation requests and podcast docket — from jail.

The portrayal of the Jan. 6 defendants arsenic governmental prisoners is anathema to galore extracurricular the acold close who haven’t forgotten the 5 who died successful the event, the Capitol Hill constabulary officers slipping connected humor arsenic they fought for their lives and the hangman’s gallows rioters constructed earlier chanting that then-vice president Mike Pence should beryllium hanged for certifying an predetermination they wrongly believed was fraudulent.

“It’s astir similar Jan. 6 is baked into the electorate connected the acold right. When they spot Jan. 6, they automatically deliberation peaceful patriots being persecuted arsenic governmental prisoners,” said Denver Riggleman, a erstwhile Republican congressman and elder method advisor for the House Select Committee that investigated the attack. “It normalizes unit arsenic an acceptable method for governmental disagreement. In effect, it endorses home terrorism. Not to notation that January 6th is simply a lawsuit survey successful radicalization and actions based wholly connected fantasy.”

Dozens of times — nightly successful the summertime months — supporters person held a candlelight vigil astatine the D.C. jail, wherever 21 detainees are inactive housed successful a peculiar helping awaiting trial, jailhouse officials said. Amid the flashing bluish lights of the information vehicles and the much pallid flickers of their candles, protesters decry the confinement of the men wrong and the conditions astatine the troubled facility, agelong a interest of quality rights activists. At 9 p.m., they sing the nationalist anthem portion prisoners above crook the lights of their cells disconnected and on.

Outside the District, day vigils successful defence of those incarcerated are planned Friday nighttime successful Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Much of the wealth flowing to the Jan. Sixers has been ostensibly to enactment their families portion they are away, wage for ineligible fees and adjacent bolster commissary funds. A reappraisal of defendants’ idiosyncratic GiveSendGo accounts tells bittersweet tales of middle-class American families successful ruins, with homes lost, businesses shuttered and savings depleted from ineligible fees.

There is often small clarity astir however wealth is being spent by immoderate of the larger organizations, according to Jordan Libowitz, the communications manager for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan U.S. authorities accountability watchdog. He noted concerns raised by a caller NPR investigation into however 1 of the biggest nonprofits, the Patriot Freedom Project, was administered.

The enactment said successful April it had raised a full of $1,164,321 and fixed retired $665,000 to Jan. 6 families for ineligible fees and different expenses. Its founder, Cynthia Hughes, did not instrumentality emails from The Post requesting comment.

“Everybody is raising wealth disconnected them,” said Riggleman. “We don’t cognize wherever the wealth is going but … this is conscionable a fantastic moneymaking opportunity.”

Judges astir the state person tried to forestall immoderate insurrectionists from profiting disconnected their actions, but adjacent idiosyncratic defence funds tin beryllium problematic, court proceedings show. In December, a national justice sentenced Ronald Sandlin, 35, a tech entrepreneur from Las Vegas who assaulted police, to 63 months successful situation and fined him $20,000 successful portion due to the fact that helium had raised $21,000 online for his defense. Sandlin had a court-appointed, taxpayer-funded attorney.

Prosecutors said that — “incredibly” — Sandlin had managed to walk much than $13,500 connected commissary, canteen, telephone calls and Netflix during his clip successful jail; the justice ordered him to use the unspent equilibrium to his fine.

Look Ahead America, a nonprofit formed successful 2017 by erstwhile Trump run staffer Matt Braynard to “register and amended and enfranchise disaffected citizens” saw its contributions leap to $793,000 successful 2021 from an mean of $25,000 successful erstwhile years, Braynard said.

Along with elector registration efforts, Look Ahead America has taken a salient relation successful supporting the Jan. 6 defendants, promoting a nationwide programme of vigils, maintaining a database of tribunal cases and launching a occupation committee to nexus Jan. Sixers with sympathetic employers (application question: “How has the persecution of Jan. 6 affected you?”).

In an interview, Braynard defended programming specified arsenic the occupation board.

“A batch of these folks — emotion them oregon hatred them, heroes oregon not — person served their clip and they’re getting retired of situation present with 2 strikes against them — they’ve served clip and they’re a J6er,” helium said. “It’s truly difficult.”

Braynard said that the enactment has ne'er solicited wealth to springiness to the defendants straight but hosts them connected its podcast astir their experience, “Political Prisoners.” The funds, helium said, were spent predominantly connected salaries oregon a elector registration effort and buses and information for 3 “Justice for J6” rallies successful Washington.

Paula Calloway, a existent property cause with a household welding concern successful King, N.C., has spent the past 2 years organizing a message thrust for prisoners called the “Patriot Mail Project,” utilizing her ain wealth for postage to guardant message to prisoners successful jail.

This Christmas, she said, she received $56,000 successful donations that she past passed connected to 30 prisoners’ families. She said she planned to station a elaborate online accounting of however the wealth was disbursed.

“Honestly we ne'er dreamed it was going to bash truthful well,” she said. “The information that this is going connected present successful this country, it pulls astatine you. The much you larn astir them, you recognize these radical could beryllium similar my family. The similarities are mind-blowing.”

Calloway attended Trump’s Jan. 6 rally adjacent the White House and made it to the Capitol earlier the large assemblage arrived.

She dismissed facts recounted by those investigating and judges meting retired Jan. 6 convictions by saying, “They were not determination and person nary thought what they are talking about. There’s much to it. I judge determination were immoderate determination to instigate.”

The supplication telephone goes unrecorded each nighttime astatine 9 p.m. Eastern connected a Telegram transmission devoted to supporting the Jan. 6 “hostages” called “The Prisoner’s Record.” It is tally by David Clements, a erstwhile New Mexico State University concern prof who has made a nationalist vocation arsenic a disseminator of predetermination disinformation.

Clements wrote successful the transmission precocious that his volunteers nonstop “12K straight to hostages to money their captive commissaries, telephone accounts and constitute letters to support the quality connection. Please articulation america this period arsenic we implicit different circular of sending tangible love.” Clements did not respond to an email requesting details connected however the wealth is accounted for.

On the night those connected the transmission prayed for the prisoners to find unity successful the cells, they besides listened to a portion of a choir singing “The Lord’s Prayer” and work aloud a missive that Jake Lang wrote from jailhouse that’s been anthologized with different prisoners’ missives, sketches and notes and compiled successful a glossy java array book. Called “The American Gulag Chronicles — Letters from Prison,” it sells for $45 online, with proceeds going to prisoners’ ineligible funds.

Lang, 27, a erstwhile precocious schoolhouse wrestler from Narrowsburg, N.Y., has had a contentious clip since helium was arrested successful 2021.

While successful assorted jails, he’s gone connected hunger strikes, tried to gully attraction to what helium sees arsenic inhumane attraction of prisoners done tweets and blog posts and irked authorities by abusing the lawyer telephone lines to bash podcasts. He’s been transferred 11 times, which officials said was due to the fact that they had received threatening communications arsenic a effect of his advocacy.

“It’s hard to tally each the antithetic organizations and websites that I’m moving for the J-Sixers from present but I’m managing by the grace of God,” helium said successful a telephone interrogation with Trump lawyer Christina Bobb connected Dec. 13 that was posted connected his Instagram account.

Both helium and his begetter person argued that helium was protecting different protesters from constabulary brutality. Ned Lang, who owns 1 of the biggest sludge-processing facilities successful New York, has created a documentary helium says clears his son’s sanction and spent much than $100,000 successful right-wing media to beforehand it. The Langs support 2 GiveSendGo accounts that person raised $111,652 and $223,843 respectively.

“We’re conscionable trying to support the connection out, trying to marque the American radical cognize determination is different broadside to the communicative that the mainstream media ne'er tells you,” the elder Lang said.

Tom Jackman, Rachel Weiner, Spencer S. Hsu and Monika Mathur contributed to this report.