“Justice for J6” Rally in Washington, DC

by Sharon Rondeau

(Sep. 18, 2021) — Matt Braynard, founder of LookAheadAmerica.org, is speaking at a “Justice for J6” gathering it sponsored in the nation’s capital Saturday afternoon in support of the constitutional rights of those imprisoned without charge or trial following the incursion at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

On that day, Congress assembled to tally the electoral votes from the 50 states which declared Joe Biden the winner of the November 3, 2020 presidential election, which then-incumbent Donald Trump contested.

Earlier that day, Trump addressed a million-strong crowd at the Ellipse, where he enumerated examples of what he said were election fraud and clear evidence that the election was commandeered from his winning a second term. During his address, he called for supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” at the Capitol, after which he was accused of inciting the crowd to violence resulting in the incursion and a lockdown of the Capitol complex.

One person was killed in the melee, unarmed Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, with no prosecution of the U.S. Capitol Police officer who pulled the trigger.

Following the incident, the U.S. House of Representatives issued an Article of Impeachment against Trump for “inciting insurrection” which the Senate ultimately rejected in a trial in early February, after Trump had left office.

Braynard, who has denounced all forms of violence and believes convicted perpetrators should be punished, said shortly after 1:00 p.m. EDT that there has been “disparate” treatment of protesters based on who they are or what their “political” beliefs are.

At 1:10 p.m., Braynard demanded that “the 14,000 hours of video” from January 6 be released to shed light on the events that day which led to hundreds of arrests, some of which have culminated in nine months of “solitary confinement.”

On January 29, three members of Congress wishing to see the conditions of those incarcerated were denied entry.

As of this writing, #Justice for J6 is trending in second place on Twitter.

When people “come to Washington and demand justice, peacefully,” it “terrifies” federal law enforcement, Braynard said with passion.  “I know that many here are upset about the election; I am, too…anger is dangerous…what I’m asking you to do is take your anger and channel it into working as a volunteer…work within the law, peacefully…do not give up on petitioning our governments.  Help us make this a better country;…help us get justice, to get our schools to respect our history.  Volunteer with Look Ahead America…”

He said it “takes courage” to attend a rally and deplored anyone who has assaulted a police officer.  “This is about disparate treatment of non-violent people…We need transparency; we need the video.”  He then called upon “journalists” to demand the video be released, which generated a brief “Release that video!” chant from the crowd.

“I’m in the business of community organizing,” Braynard said.  “The Capitol Police have done a wonderful job in communicating with us…”

He urged attendees not to walk alone and to ask anyone walking unaccompanied to join them. 

“God bless you all — America first, America first!” Braynard ended him remarks at 1:20.  Stepping down from the dais and flanked by security, he was approached by members of the media with questions.  At 1:21, the audio for this writer went dark but was restored at 1:28.