NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Jack Posobiec raised the alarm following a video of his acceptance speech at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference. it went viral. In the video, the right-wing activist and media personality said that he wants to end democracy and complete his January 6 mission and establish a government before God.
“Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow him completely,” he said on Thursday. “We didn’t quite get there on January 6, but we will try to get rid of it.”
Posobiec — known for internet trolling, conspiracy theories and flamboyant rhetoric — said in a subsequent speech and interview with NBC News that his remarks were mostly satirical, mocking what he saw as the lack of democratic values in President Joe Biden’s administration.
“We always support a constitutional republic,” Posobiec said Friday, referring to conservatives.
“What we’re trying to do is bring it back to the original system. We are not destroying all democracies, just theirs [Democrats’] democracy,” he added.
But in his speech on Friday, Posobiec continued to use rhetoric reminiscent of a violent revolution.
“After we burn that swamp, we will build a new American republic on its ashes, and our first order will be the just punishment of those who betrayed America,” he said.
His call to participants to “fight back” and support “every J6-er” was applauded by many conference attendees who defended the participants of the January 6 uprising in interviews with NBC News.
Posobiec advanced unfounded conspiracy theories about the involvement of federal agencies in inciting the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and called for justice for those charged in connection with the incident.
The conspiracy theory and its associated movement had fans at CPAC, many of whom believed that the events of January 6 were a legitimate and well-intentioned attempt to influence the election.
Jonathan Linowes created a January 6th-themed pinball machine that was shown at CPAC and went viral on Thursday. Some people took the vehicle, titled “J6: Insurrection Educational Documentary Game,” as a joke, but for Linowes, it was a serious statement of his beliefs about January 6th.
“I decided to make a game that really represented what happened on January 6,” he said in an interview Friday. “It’s very suspicious and there hasn’t been any serious investigation into what happened.”
When asked if he would attend on Jan. 6, Linowes said, “I can’t say.” He did not directly answer whether he wanted to see a replay of that day.
“I think we should all exercise our right to freedom of speech and assembly.
Five people Many died during or in the days following the January 6 riot, including Capitol Police and several participants.
For some participants, Posobiec’s calls against democracy resonated with them and they believed that January 6 was a fair attempt to influence the processes going on in our democratic republic.
“Democracy is evil,” said Tommy Tatum. “Democracy is the rule of the masses.”
Tatum, who has been talking a lot on the Internet about being in the Capitol on Jan. 6 and celebrating himself the pursuer Capitol police officers at CPAC on Jan. 6 were addressing the Legal Defense Fund, which is used to pay legal fees for people who have been harassed in connection with that day.
Tatum said he supported the actions of the Jan. 6 attendees, referring to the tampering with the vote count at the Capitol, saying it was “exactly what we wanted to happen.”
January 6 activist Suzzanne Monk is campaigning for a pardon for anyone tried in connection with the uprising. Monk, who said he was in the area of the uprising that day, echoed Tatum’s claims that the uprising should be a peaceful effort to support Trump’s second term.
Monk said he doesn’t want violence, but worries about what will happen if the 2024 election is called in Biden’s favor.
“When we raised our concerns about electoral fraud, we were ignored,” he said, “and I don’t know what will happen if it happens again.”