Dozens of people gathered outside of a Washington, D.C., jail on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack to support the insurrectionists who caused mayhem last year. According to Vice News reporter Simone Perez, supporters of the insurrectionists gathered on Thursday to light candles, sing and pray. 

Matt Braynard, the executive director of Look Ahead America, coordinated the rally. Braynard, who launched the organization last year to help rioters who were jailed after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Jan. 6 was just about “boomers getting lost on a self-guided tour,” according to Perez's tweet. He added that this is "Tiananmen Square” for conservatives. 

According to Newsweek, Braynard described the arrests of the attackers as "political persecution." He also said the group was targeted "not for what they did, but for their sincere political beliefs."

The Look Ahead America leader said his organization sent a letter to the Department of Justice and FBI last year, demanding them to "drop charges against nonviolent offenders." 

He said the goal of the vigils was "to put public attention and public pressure on our government and elected officials to do the right thing and to stop abusing these people and to stop the political persecutions."

The conservative leader also compared the current situation to the anti-apartheid movement, which took place in South Africa for many decades as an effort to end racism and segregation. 

"We understand that it's not going to happen overnight, but just as the anti-apartheid movement took many years, we will be equally patient," Braynard said.

Micki Witthoeft also spoke at the vigil on Thursday to defend her daughter, Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by U.S. Capitol police officer Lt. Michael Byrd when she joined the rioters. According to the New York Post, Witthoeft said Babbitt, a 36-year-old Air Force veteran, had a legitimate right to protest.

“My daughter was an amazing, energetic, independent, powerful woman. I miss her every day,” Witthoeft said. “I’m here because Americans do have the right to protest, it’s your right as an American citizen to protest.”

Babbitt, who was among the mob of rioters who were storming the Capitol to disrupt the results of the 2020 presidential election, was shot while trying to crawl through a broken window to enter the Speaker’s Lobby. 

“She came to DC to hear Donald Trump speak about a stolen election, and little did we know that would be the last time she heard anybody speak,” Witthoeft said about her daughter. 

As Blavity previously reported, an officer died shortly after trying to protect the Capitol building during the riot, and four others died by suicide in the months following the attack. More than 100 were also injured as they were attacked by the mob that stormed Congress on behalf of Trump and his false claims of election fraud.

Braynard was hoping to see massive rallies across the nation on Thursday. According to the Daily Beast, however, there was a low turnout in many places. 

Capitol-riotDonald trumpInsurrectionMatt-Braynard