WASHINGTON – Since a pro-Trump crowd attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, Republicans have been trying to sideline the national conversation from this dark, violent day toward what they say are the problems of the Biden administration: a problematic withdrawal from Afghanistan, imposed southern border and rising inflation.
Former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign agent then announced that he was organizing hundreds of protesters to return to the Capitol on Saturday for a rally in support of the accused in connection with the deadly assault, which left dozens of officers in blood. .
Bad memories of the violence rushed again. Capitol police announced they were reinstalling a security fence around the complex and were aware of “referring to online talks” by extremist groups. And many Republican lawmakers, gritting their teeth, said they didn’t want to have anything to do with the event. No member of Congress has confirmed his attendance, not even those who have been most outspoken in portraying the insurgents as patriots who have been persecuted for their political beliefs.
“There are a lot of clearly angry people who want to march on the Capitol,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican. “I haven’t spoken to any Republican here in the Senate who has encouraged or allowed anything like that.”
However, the “Justice for J6” rally, to be held Saturday at noon at the foot of Capitol Hill, has created a difficult situation for Republicans, who find themselves trapped among a right-wing base, including many voters who consider that the riots are just and the desire to distance themselves from the attack and its political consequences.
“Whenever the focus is on Joe Biden, it’s good for Republicans and anytime the January 6 attention is bad for Republicans,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist and Capitol Hill veteran. “The only hope the Democrats have of keeping the House is to make January 6 the subject of the campaign. They know it and we know it. The only people who don’t seem to know it are the activists.”
This has left Republican leaders in an awkward position, struggling to distance themselves from an event that will surely erase the issue of the Capitol riot – and that could potentially get out of control – but distrusts offensive voters who sympathize with the cause.
Representative Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican and minority leader, told reporters this week that he did not expect any lawmakers from his party to attend, but his office had no answers to questions about whether he supported the rally or it deterred people from attending. Representatives Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Elise Stefanik of New York, second- and third-place House Republicans, have also been taciturn about the event.
Even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgian Republican who has been one of the most vocal critics of the Jan. 6 suspects’ treatment, said she would not attend the rally, though she defended the inspiration behind it. .
“There is a two-way justice system in the United States and the treatment of J6 political prisoners compared to the anti-riot / BLM rioters proves it,” he said in a lengthy email statement.
Greene said he condemned the violence that occurred during the riot, but said he believed “illegal aliens are treated better than many of the J6 defendants.”
In shunning the event, Republicans follow the example of Mr. Trump himself, who has not been characteristically silent about it, although in the past he has defended the crowd.
Mr. Trump, according to aides, has little interest in participating in the protest and is not scheduled to be near Washington on Saturday. Instead, his schedule includes a golf tournament at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, before returning to his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, according to people familiar with his schedule.
Trump believes the planned protest is a setup that the media will use against him regardless of the outcome, according to people familiar with his thinking.
But concern in the party is real on behalf of the Jan. 6 defendants, especially those charged with nonviolent crimes, Feehery said. He said many Republican voters believed Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol would have received lighter treatment if they had been supporting a left-wing cause.
“I can appreciate why Republicans don’t want to do anything about it,” he said, “but there’s a lot of anxiety in the Republican base.”
Capitol police officials have urged anyone considering violence to stay home instead of attending Saturday’s rally, which was organized by Matt Braynard, a former Trump campaign agent, and his organization, Look Ahead America.
Braynard has promised that his group will be peaceful, unlike the crowd that stormed the Capitol on January 6, when about 140 police officers were injured and several people were killed.
Braynard has argued that the brutal attacks on police officers during the assault were the work of “a few bad apples” and accused the Biden administration of targeting the “peaceful supporters of Trump who entered the Capitol with selection processes based on their political beliefs “. ”
“The faces of these people appear on the billboards,” he said. “They are losing their jobs. They lose their homes. They are spending all their savings on lawyers. They are failing to do what any other day, for any other reason, would have imposed on you a $ 50 fine and a slap on the wrist. “
These types of appeals had found support on the Republican Party’s right flank in the House, including Ms. Greene and Reps Matt Gaetz of Florida, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia and Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona. In July, these members held a press conference on behalf of the January 6 defendants, but as of Wednesday none of them had confirmed their attendance at Saturday’s rally.
Braynard has struggled to get high-profile speakers for his event. So far, he has announced the attendance of two congressional aspirants, including Joe Kent, one of the main challenges for Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who was one of ten Republicans who voted to accuse Trump of his role in the attack. .
Braynard also announced that Ralph Norman, a Republican from South Carolina, would attend a future “Justice for J6” rally in Columbia, SC, but Mr. Norman said he would not attend.
Asked if he believed Republican leaders were discouraging their efforts, Braynard said, “You should ask them that.”
In the Senate, Republicans have also worked to distance themselves from the rally, and many argue it is a distraction.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, said he believed police were “well equipped to handle” anything that might happen.
Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who opposed President Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, said he did not attend and focused on other issues. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, another Republican who opposed the election results and was in close contact with Trump’s inner circle before and during the riot, also said he would not participate.
“I don’t expect there to be a lot of people,” Tuberville said. “I have not heard anything. I will not be there. “
Others said they had little sympathy for the Jan. 6 defendants and encouraged a blunt response from police in the event the Saturday crowd turned violent.
“They have to follow a firm line, friend,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a new and new ally of Trump. “If someone gets off the line, they have to hit them.”
Annie Karni has provided reports.