What could have been a second Jan. 6 turned out to be nothing much at all. According to The Washington Post, a rally entitled “Justice for J6,” in support of the more than 500 people (among them “QAnon Shaman”) charged in connection with the Capitol riot that put a disgraceful end to Donald Trump’s presidency, drew only a few hundred participants. The ones that showed up were outnumbered by law enforcement as well as reporters ready to capture an event that never took off.
There’s a chance the rally was simply doomed from the start. Police were thin on the ground on January 6, when Trump supporters forced their way into the Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the certification of the 2020 election. This time they were ready. Law enforcement was everywhere, in anticipation of violence that never came. There were no clashes between Trumpists and counterprotesters, who held their own event about a mile away and drew about the same numbers.
Trump supporters may have simply been scared off. As per WaPo:
The rally’s poor attendance comes as no surprise. Organizers said they expected about 700 attendees, but many influential figures on the far right actually discouraged their followers from showing up, asserting the event was a trap. Baseless rumors have ricocheted through social media to the effect that the federal government was attempting to lure demonstrators to Washington to arrest them, and that left-wing activists disguised themselves as Trump supporters would deliberately cause trouble.
Even the Proud Boys, the violent, far-right men’s group, reportedly discouraged their members from attending.
And so instead of nightmarish, Boschian images of Trump supporters climbing all over the Capitol building, violently attacking police officers, photographers could only show sparse crowds, where most were either police or journalists. People marveled at how few people showed up.
It looks like the #JusticeforJ6 “Rally” could have been an email. pic.twitter.com/YLfxWOiBb4
— Erich with an “h” (@ErichinATL) September 18, 2021
At the J6 rally on the Mall, protesters are outnumbered by reporters. Massive police presence: helicopter, police dogs, dump trucks lining 3rd St. The cost per protester would be interesting to work out. pic.twitter.com/YjXXTW4Cdi
— Del Quentin Wilber (@DelWilber) September 18, 2021
Massive crowds for J6. pic.twitter.com/CmHWvbUFLh
— Turn Texas Blue (@Blue_Texas2022) September 18, 2021
While noticing that there were tons of reporters.
Current scene at Justice for J6 rally, seems like more press than actual rally attendees pic.twitter.com/IkiNToe3vn
— Lisa Bennatan (@LisaBennatan) September 18, 2021
Less than a half-hour before the start of this “Justice For J6 (Jan. 6)” rally, there are not a ton of people at the protest site. There are just as many journalists here, and probably more police. pic.twitter.com/C08PZVCNyQ
— David Jackson (@djusatoday) September 18, 2021
There were jokes.
The Justice for J6 rally could have just been a group text.
— Kate (@ImSpeaking13) September 18, 2021
The J6 rally is yuuuuuge. pic.twitter.com/WsD5rxGh5L
— Melissa (@MeliMels99) September 18, 2021
“Justice for J6 rally? It look more like a Just Us 6 rally!” pic.twitter.com/hdWtnuXKmA
— pwithm11 (@pwtham11) September 18, 2021
Let’s take a look at the J6 protest pic.twitter.com/LVzRPeSYFe
— Josemaría Piulada (@txiokatu) September 18, 2021
And calls for actual justice.
Justice for J6! pic.twitter.com/IiBN95DItE
— Duty To Warn (@duty2warn) September 18, 2021
You want “Justice for J6”? So do we. Here’s what justice looks like for them. pic.twitter.com/D80Qtz3Mm6
— Treats (@Treats0351) September 16, 2021
Well, at least batman showed up.
Despite very few rally-goers attending the Justice for J6 event, Batman showed up! pic.twitter.com/bW37wlXQCe
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) September 18, 2021
(Via The Post)