Proud Boys and other January 6 rioters return to DC to celebrate President Trump

Virjilio Burciaga traveled from California to celebrate Donald Trump’s inauguration in front of the Capitol – the first time the 48-year-old electrician has returned to the house of American democracy since he protested with a mob on January 6th Building stormed, 2021.

“At some point they viewed us as insurgents,” he said The Independent“Now it has changed to We will all be pardonedyou know, that label has been lifted.”

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And hours later, newly reinstated President Trump did just that, promising that he would take action on behalf of the people he referred to as the “J6 hostages,” those currently charged with crimes committed during the Capitol insurrection or are imprisoned. Trump has promised to issue full pardons to many of the 1,500 protesters jailed over the attack.

This is good news for Virjilio and his wife Clara, who were both present that day.

“I think, When are they going to break down my door and take me out of my house and throw me in jail?“says Clara, with the Capitol behind her.

The pair believe a distinction should be made between violent protesters and those who entered the Capitol (although Virjilio insists he did not enter the building).

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“These guys are political prisoners,” she continues. “All these real criminals are being pardoned by this (Biden) administration, and what happened to our J6ers?”

The California couple also believes the defendants should receive compensation.

“I don’t believe in lawsuits, but they need to be compensated for their time,” Virjilio says.

President Trump’s unlikely political comeback has brought with it a reinterpretation of the attack on the Capitol that began with a weak condemnation of that day’s violence and later dubbed it a “Day of Love.”

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After being criticized by most members of his own party for his role in leading the insurrection aimed at preventing the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, most Republicans have now aligned themselves with Trump and downplayed its significance.

And it was clear that this year’s Inauguration Day was a celebration of the Jan. 6 rioters thrilled by Trump’s return – an example of the winner making history.

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Across town, near Capitol One Arena, a group of Proud Boys — the group most responsible for the Jan. 6 insurrection — gathered in significantly smaller numbers for their final appearance at the Capitol.

The group’s leader, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 39, of Miami, Florida, received one of the harshest sentences of anyone charged in the attack: He was sentenced to 22 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release.

“No organization deployed more ground troops to the Capitol on January 6, 2021 than the Proud Boys, and they have been at the forefront of every major breach of the Capitol’s defenses and led efforts on the ground to storm the Capitol headquarters.” Government U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia said in September 2023 when Tarrio was sentenced.

Several members declined to be interviewed Monday The Independentbut a masked member who identified himself as Harry Fox says, “The Proud Boys did nothing wrong.”

Fox says the attack on the Capitol was “the driving force behind why he joined the group and that the attack was sparked by police attacks on protesters.”

“How much is a crowd supposed to endure – if you stole an election, tore up our Constitution for a year, and then you steal an election and people show up, then you shoot into a crowd?” he asks.

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“At what point are people supposed to just move on – when you see Grandma getting hit in the head with a baton, when you see people praying, having clubs sprayed in their faces, or when you see people there Stand and exercise your First Amendment right to assemble?”

The Independentwho was present at the Jan. 6 riot, previously reported that the Proud Boys led an attack on police to gain entry to the Capitol and prevent the certification of Biden’s victory.