The Vigil Keepers of January 6th is the latest puff piece on Freedom Corner, the nightly pro-insurrectionist meetup outside the DC Jail.
It’s not the first, nor the last, article seeking to “both sides” January 6th terrorists and find some sort of common humanity in their struggle to escape criminal accountability.
As Americans, we suffer from the naive belief that “it can’t happen here.” Many can’t face the truth that American citizens attacked their own government to install a dictator. That happens in other countries, not here – except that it did.
Since we find the truth so difficult to accept, you get desperate acts of apologia such as The Vigil Keepers of January 6th, which seeks to portray terrorist supporters as worthy of our sympathy.
The New Yorker takes their claims without any investigation, printing them as if they’re fact. The magazine didn’t talk to the people of DC who have been victimized by Freedom Corner.
Let’s learn the truth about this so-called vigil.
Freedom Corner Celebrates Violence
Every night outside the DC Jail, cult leaders Micki Witthoeft and Nicole Reffitt lead a small group to read out the names of the men and women who attacked the Capitol on January 6th. After each name, they chant, “Hero.”
Their heroes include:
- Brian Jackson, a Neo-Nazi from Texas with a lengthy criminal record, who pled guilty to felony assault on police officers.
- David Dempsey, recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for attacking the police with pepper spray, a crutch and pieces of furniture.
- John Banuelos, described as “mind-numbingly dangerous,” who fired a gun on January 6th and, later in the year, stabbed a teen to death in Utah.
These are men that the Freedom Corner activists would set free to commit more crimes.
Freedom Corner Indulges in Violence
But the vigil keepers do more than just applaud the violent insurrectionists of January 6th; they also engage in violence.
Micki Witthoeft, mother of Ashli Babbitt, has called for the lynching of Michael Byrd, the black Capitol Police officer who shot her daughter to death as she attempted to break into the Capitol.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
Last night Ashli Babbit’s mother, Micki Witthoeft @michellewittho1, said the following: “Michael Byrd needs to swing from the end of the rope along with Nancy Pelosi”
She called for the LYNCHING of a black man. #FreedomCorner pic.twitter.com/cXmFhnKCWi
— Kate Ross (@kate_ross_) September 3, 2023
The vigil keepers and their followers do more than just make violent threats; they have assaulted DC residents on multiple occasions.
Witthoeft was arrested for assault and destruction of property after attacking a counterprotester. She was “no papered” i.e., not charged, which has encouraged Freedom Corner followers to engage in more attacks on the people of Washington.
Steven Girard, a regular at the vigil, was recently found guilty of Misdemeanor Sexual Abuse for shoving a flag pole between a woman’s legs. The assault occurred outside the United States Court House in Washington, DC, during the trial of Trump aide Peter Navarro.
This is part of their extreme disrespect for the law. Tami Perryman, wife of Brian Jackson, dismissed her husband’s admission of guilt in court as so much “wordsmithing.”
Freedom Corner is counting the days until November 5, believing that Trump will free the January 6th prisoners once elected. And then they promise revenge against the legal system and others that have wronged them.
The vigil keepers should be judged by their actions, not the sweet words they whisper to a reporter. They have used violence before and will use it again, if given the opportunity.
