Trump Delivers Special Message to Jan. 6 Defendants

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a Save America rally in Warren, Mich., on Oct. 1, 2022. Emily Elconin/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump released a video Thursday that expressed solidarity with individuals who entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as part of a fundraising effort for families of individuals who face federal charges in connection to the incident.

“People have been treated unconstitutionally, in my opinion, and very, very unfairly, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it,” he said in the clip. “It’s the weaponization of the Department of Justice, and we can’t let this happen in our country,” he added.

Trump added that “I have never seen anything like at all levels,” saying that individuals in the government have “skipped over” being “socialism.” He added that “our country is going communist” and will try to “get justice for our people that are in prison” and “are being tormented.”

Reports indicated that Trump was releasing the video on behalf of the Patriot Freedom Project, which describes itself as a non-profit organization that is “providing legal, financial, mental-health, and spiritual support for individuals and their families” who are being subject to “a weaponized justice system.”

The Epoch Times has contacted a Trump spokesman for comment.

Criticism

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) have said that some Jan. 6 detainees have been unfairly treated, including abuse and mistreatment on behalf of facility staff and guards. Some conservatives, meanwhile, have decried Republican leadership in Congress for doing little to support or raise awareness about alleged abuse against detainees and poor conditions at the D.C. Metropolitan Jail.

The founder of the project, Cynthia Hughes, told The Epoch Times in June that her nephew, a Jan. 6 detainee who was later convicted, suffered “horrendous” conditions in the D.C. Metropolitan Jail. “It’s very biased in D.C.,” Hughes said. “Nobody’s gonna get a fair trial, nobody’s gonna be granted a change of venue motion.”

At the time, she said that defendants still “don’t get to go outside, they don’t get to see the sun ... I anticipate many will have serious health issues.”

“If you have a medical problem, you’re not seeing a doctor,” Hughes added. Her nephew “has had two very significant ear infections, so bad that it caused bleeding from the ear, and he never got to see a doctor. He got to see a nurse practitioner, and they flushed his ear out with peroxide and gave him some penicillin.”

A large group of protesters stand on the East steps of the Capitol Building after breaching its grounds in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

During an interview in September, the 45th president said he was “financially supporting” some Jan. 6 defendants and said he would issue pardons to certain individuals and an apology for people who are being prosecuted.

“If I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly. This hasn’t happened to all the other atrocities that took place. Nothing like this has happened. What that Un-Select Committee is doing and what the people are doing that are running those prisons, it is a disgrace,” Trump also said at a rally in January 2022.

Trump’s video of solidarity comes several days after Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and associate Kelly Meggs were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and tampering with documents or proceedings in connection to the events on Jan. 6.

So far, some 900 people have been charged in connection to the Capitol breach as of October, according to the Department of Justice. More than 400 people have pleaded guilty to a “variety of federal charges,” including 110 who have pleaded guilty to felonies, it said.

“The government continues to investigate losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol, including damage to the Capitol building and grounds, both inside and outside the building,” the DOJ said in a news release, adding that the FBI is continuing an investigation.

The former president’s remarks on Thursday come about two weeks after he launched his third presidential bid during an event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Among major GOP candidates vying for the White House, Trump is the first to make such an announcement.