When it comes to the most brutal moments in Game of Thrones, nothing tops the Red Wedding. While fans of the books were prepared for the event that went down during the Season 3 episode “The Rains of Castamere,” casual HBO viewers were in for a horrifying shock as beloved characters were gruesomely murdered during a vengeful wedding reception massacre. It was a terrifying sight to behold, and only something a truly disturbed person would want to see happen in real life.
Enter the January 6 rioters.
During Tuesday’s televised hearings, clips of “Stop the Steal” rally planners and right-wing media figures were shown including a chilling comment from far-right YouTube personality “Salty Cracker” who was reacting to a December 2020 tweet from Donald Trump telling his followers to attend his “big protest.”
“This is going to be a Red Wedding going down on January 6,” Cracker said in the clip. Again, the Red Wedding was a brutal mass murder that is immediately recognizable to Game of Thrones fans, and arguably people who haven’t seen the show thanks to the widespread reactions to the infamous episode on social media.
The Jan. 6 committee plays a bunch of clips from pro-Trump YouTubers and media—including Tim Pool and Alex Jones—hyping up the Jan. 6 rally and calling for supporters to descend upon Washington for a “Red Wedding” immediately after Trump’s Dec. 19 tweet. pic.twitter.com/SK1mFKqhCX
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 12, 2022
Shortly after the January 6 committee played the clip, Red Wedding began to trend on Twitter as people reacted to the clear and obvious implications of bringing up the brutal Game of Thrones slaughter.
Not saying the country is in a bad place, but the Congressional Record now contains an explanation of the Red Wedding
— George Zornick (@gzornick) July 12, 2022
Calling for a “red wedding” is one of the most chilling things I’ve heard.
We cannot allow our democracy to fall to these extremists.— thastepfordwife
(@thastepfordwife) July 12, 2022
let’s be clear. a reference to the “red wedding” isn’t just about generic slaughter. it’s about locking a group of people in a room where they are conducting a ritual and killing everyone on “one side.”
— just gina
(@mantisbat) July 12, 2022
Far right media indicated how there was going to be a ‘red wedding’ on January 6. This is a reference to mass slaughter from Game of Thrones.
They all knew what the plan was. Arrest them all. #Jan6thHearings #January6thCommiteeHearings #January6th #TrumpCrimeSyndicate
— PoliticalCupid for PM (@PoliticalCupid) July 12, 2022
Trump’s supporters promoted Jan 6 as the red wedding
In Game of Thrones parlance, that means a ruthless bloodbath, a sea of blood & limb, mass slaughter
This is what the GOP is today: a bloodthirsty domestic terrorist org
Do NOT let them pretend otherwise #Jan6thHearings
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) July 12, 2022
A GOT reference (The Red Wedding) in today’s #January6thHearing.
— Katie S. Phang (@KatiePhang) July 12, 2022
The idea that people were claiming that 1/6 would be like a “Red Wedding” is just so….
They’re in a fantasy world.
THIS IS REAL LIFE.
NOT A TV SHOW.
There’s absolutely no seeming awareness of the meaning of their actions.#HATH— Dr. Joanne Freeman (@jbf1755) July 12, 2022
The Red Wedding was a massacre that took place during the War of the Five Kings. It means turning a positive event into a slaughter. Adorable.
#January6thHearings— Hal Sparks (@HalSparks) July 12, 2022
“Red Wedding, bitch” stated in a Congressional hearing for the first time.
— Quentin Hardy (@qhardy) July 12, 2022
Naturally, Red Wedding wasn’t even the bottom of the barrel, as the Jan. 6 committee also showed Trump supporters calling for a “Day of the Rope,” an even more disturbing reference from The Turner Diaries.
“Day of the rope” sounds much worse than the red wedding. https://t.co/GrmXnfqFuI
—
C. J.
These people wanted to do some pretty bad stuff is the overall message here.