海角大神

Brandon Fellows insists he did nothing wrong on Jan. 6, 2021.

In his telling, he entered the U.S. Capitol 鈥渨ith permission from Capitol Police, and had a blast.鈥� He acknowledges that he sat at a senator鈥檚 desk and smoked marijuana. But, he says, 鈥淪omebody just passed it to me, and heavily coerced me to take those two hits.鈥�

鈥淚 hosted a really good party,鈥� Mr. Fellows says of his Jan. 6 actions, adding, 鈥淯nfortunately, the FBI felt differently about it.鈥�

According to the Justice Department, Mr. Fellows entered the Capitol building through a broken window, then 鈥減araded鈥� through a door holding a Trump 2020 flag. He was sentenced to 42 months 鈥� including five months for contempt over repeated outbursts during his trial 鈥� and was released from prison in May. Now, the former chimney repairman from Schenectady, New York, has become a regular presence at nightly vigils taking place outside the D.C. Central Detention Facility, where he was once held.

On a frigid January night, Mr. Fellows was one of 10 people gathered outside the jail to support those still inside 鈥� about 20 prisoners, they say 鈥� for their participation in the Capitol riot. Prisoners can look out the window and see the vigil, flashing the indoor lights to signal their appreciation. Every night, a few are able to call a participant鈥檚 cellphone, which is amplified to the crowd via loudspeaker.

It鈥檚 a tight-knit, eclectic group that includes Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, a Jan. 6 rioter who was shot dead by a Capitol Police officer; a military veteran known as 1791 Storm Trooper, who livestreams the nightly vigil; a retired Army medic who also runs a livestream; and several congregants from a local Chinese 海角大神 church, including a retired federal employee named Dwight Yen.

Ms. Witthoeft started the nightly vigils on Aug. 1, 2022, after she says her daughter spoke to her in a dream.

Nearly 900 days later, she and other participants remain united in their belief that the 2020 election was stolen and that U.S. government oppression continues. Just two miles from the Capitol, these nightly gatherings reflect the intense devotion to Donald Trump shown by his most ardent supporters, which helped fuel the former president鈥檚 successful bid in November to take back the White House.

To law enforcement officers injured in the Jan. 6 mayhem, as well as members of Congress and others present in the Capitol that day who feared for their lives, such adulation for convicted rioters is not only misguided but also anathema to a civilized society.

鈥淚f January 6th was a day of love,鈥� as President-elect Trump has said, 鈥渢hen MAGA extremists nearly loved me to death,鈥� said retired Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell at a web event last week marking the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack.

Sergeant Gonell has spoken out and written a book about the abuse he endured that day, including being hit with a flagpole and beaten by his own baton. More than 140 police officers were injured in the riot, and one died the next day of 鈥渘atural causes,鈥� according to the D.C. medical examiner. Four others died by suicide in the days and months after the riot.

But vigil participants are counting the days until Jan. 20, when Mr. Trump becomes president again. He has promised to pardon most, if not all, of the so-called J6ers.

Incoming Vice President JD Vance said Sunday on Fox News that those who committed violence 鈥渙bviously鈥� should not be pardoned. But expectations are high. Nearly 1,600 people were charged federally in connection with the riot.

What if Mr. Trump doesn鈥檛 pardon everybody?

鈥淭here鈥檚 a good chance the vigils will continue,鈥� says Sherri Hafner, the retired Army medic who livestreams the nightly gatherings.

Ms. Hafner says she wasn鈥檛 at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and doesn鈥檛 know anyone who was. She was protesting with a different 鈥渇reedom movement,鈥� she says, for 34 days on the National Mall to 鈥渁ddress our grievances to the government.鈥� Then she heard about the nightly vigils, right as they started, and joined up.

She says she heard that many of those held here were decorated combat veterans. 鈥淚 took an oath never to leave a man behind. I consider these guys my brothers,鈥� says Ms. Hafner, a combat veteran herself.

Ms. Hafner also participated in a commemorative Jan. 6 march around the fence surrounding the Capitol last week. She handed out flowers to be laid at the fence in honor of Ms. Babbitt. Counterprotesters shouted epithets as they walked by, but the opposing groups kept it nonviolent.

A leader of that march, Nicole Reffitt, is another organizer of the jailhouse vigils and the wife of J6er Guy Reffitt, a member of the antigovernment Three Percenter militia from Texas, who鈥檚 now incarcerated in Missouri, according to his wife. He carried a gun to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and was reported to the authorities by his son 鈥� a family drama that has been widely publicized. Mr. Reffitt did not enter the Capitol that day, but helped incite the crowd 鈥渋nto an unstoppable force,鈥� a prosecutor said at his 2022 trial.

In an interview on Christmas Eve, when this reporter first visited the scene outside the D.C. jail, Ms. Reffitt paused as she sought to explain the message participants were trying to send by being out there, day after day.

鈥淵ou know, really, I hope that it gives other people some courage. The J6 communities have gone through a lot. [It鈥檚 been] very polarizing,鈥� Ms. Reffitt said. She hopes it 鈥済ives some community, some fellowship, encouragement.鈥�

On that particular holiday eve, when about 20 people were gathered, the atmosphere was almost festive. A table was laden with food, a potluck organized by the Chinese church group.

The nightly rituals are structured in some ways like a religious service. The Pledge of Allegiance is recited. Prayers are offered. Over a sound system, the names of still-incarcerated J6ers are read aloud, and prisoners call vigil organizers from inside the D.C. jail to convey messages to their supporters. A recording of the chart-topping 鈥淛an. 6 Prison Chorus鈥� singing the National Anthem, with an overlay of Mr. Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, is played.

Mr. Fellows, the former J6 prisoner, wasn鈥檛 there on Christmas Eve, but was happy to talk during the vigil on Jan. 8.

Is he expecting a pardon? Actually, he鈥檇 prefer a commutation, saying he wants to appeal his convictions. Looking ahead, Mr. Fellows is hoping to move to New Jersey and rebuild his chimney repair business. He says he鈥檚 thinking about joining a militia, both for the sense of community and for protection, in an increasingly unstable world.

鈥淏eing in a militia can be beneficial,鈥� Mr. Fellows says, his red MAGA cap backward on his head. 鈥淵ou can join together, make a little neighborhood to protect yourselves, work on little projects together.鈥�

鈥淚f it all crumbles 鈥� which some people say could happen...,鈥� he continues, his voice trailing off. 鈥淩ome fell. Every empire鈥檚 fallen. We鈥檒l eventually fall, too.鈥�