
Joe Flood
September 24, 2025
There are no greater supporters of Donald Trump than the January 6th rioters. These are the men and women who fought for him and, in many cases, went to jail for him.
Trump pardoned them, wiping the slate clean and giving them a fresh start on life.
But they’re not happy, despite obtaining their freedom.
They thought that they would be the winners, the ruling class, with special rights and privileges bestowed upon them by Dear Leader.
Instead, they’re discovering the brutal truth: we all lost on November 5, 2024.
For some of us, the realization was immediate. For others, the truth is seeping in, a kind of cognitive dissonance, as they discover that electing a dictator hasn’t made their lives easier.
They have entered the Seven Stages of MAGA Grief.
- Shock – why hasn’t Trump helped us out?
- Denial – things are in motion, trust the plan.
- Anger – Trump? Fuck him!
- Bargaining – if we stay loyal, he will help us
- Guilt – did we cause this?
- Depression – the Deep State always wins.
- Acceptance – we were damn fools.
I’ve been tracking January 6th rioters and their supporters since the riot happened. I live in DC and I took that shit personally.
From 2021-2024, I followed the trials, watched the livestreams and monitored the nightly vigil outside the DC Jail known as Freedom Corner, becoming a scholar of the chuds, as we call MAGA fanatics. I even wrote a Chud Glossary.
After the pardon, there was elation among the J6ers and their supporters, who expected to be rewarded with cash and retribution.
Gleefully, they fantasized about watching military tribunals with Obama, Pelosi, Biden and others in the dock. They wanted all those “antifas” who made fun of them online to be shipped off to Gitmo. They expected to be awarded medals in a White House ceremony, along with a sizable checks for their J6 service (they fancy themselves veterans).

Of course, that didn’t happen. Their enemies are still free and the mockery on Twitter is relentless.
Trump is President now, so who do you blame when things go wrong?
J6 prisoners went from being victims of the Deep State to wondering why the Deep State hasn’t helped them out.
The J6 “community” has been split innumerable ways. As I saw with an earlier fascist group, the 1776 Restoration Movement, cults are all about money and sex: who gets what.
Millions of dollars were raised on behalf of J6 prisoners, money which disappeared completely into a sea of competing organizations all with the name “Patriot” in them somewhere.
J6ers are broke and begging for cash online, using the power of AI to create grift-worthy graphics.

The estate of Ashli Babbitt received $5 million from the Department of Justice, which lit a fire of greed in the eyes of J6ers. They fought for Trump and lost years out of their lives. How much is that worth? Lawyers dangled the prospect of millions in payouts.
But no money is forthcoming because Trump has pushed this country into even greater calamities, like spiraling inflation, attacks on free speech and ICE disappearing brown people.
As for the sex, there are J6 groupies, some of whom even stalk J6ers, but the men, despite years in prison, passed on them.
Which leads the J6ers and their simps scattered along the Seven Stages of MAGA Grief. How did it all go wrong?
Some are stuck in Denial, holding the belief that the fault for their plight lies not with Trump but with his gatekeepers, who are keeping the truth from him. If only Stalin knew!
Some of the J6ers recently held a rally outside the White House, fantasizing that Trump would look out his window and see their signs. “We still love Trump,” they said, as they swore their loyalty to the Dictator and begged for financial relief.
Others are firmly in Depression, claiming that the Deep State is still in charge, spinning up new conspiracy theories (Charlie Kirk) or inadvertently stumbling upon the truth that social media has made us all crazy.

The days tick by. Life doesn’t get easier for the J6ers, or anyone else but the super-rich. As the misery piles up, they will be pushed down the Seven Stages of MAGA Grief.
Eventually, they will reach Acceptance, discovering what we learned a long time ago. We all lost on November 5, 2024.




























































