As our readers know, VDARE.com has extensively covered the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. We attended the Trump rally early that morning and ultimately found ourselves thrust into the front lines of a large crowd that made its way up the Capitol steps, covered by plumes of tear gas and attacked by Capitol Police officers. We risked our safety knowing the importance of capturing what would surely be a defining moment of the 2020 election. We need not say that an accurate account of January 6th is of utmost importance to us, and we grieve the loss of patriots who passed away that day [D.C. medical examiner releases cause of death for four people who died during Capitol riot, by Peter Hermann and Steve Thompson, Washington Post, April 7, 2021]. The treatment of January 6th protestors is not something we take lightly, and we have and will continue to shed light on the disparate treatment shown to those patriots compared to BLM and Antifa thugs who continue getting away with rioting, looting, and violent attacks nationwide.
With that being said, on September 18th, 2021, an organization by the name of Look Ahead America, headed by former 2016 Trump Campaign staffer Matt Braynard, hosted a rally in Washington D.C. to spread awareness of over 600 January 6 protestors jailed for attending the infamous January 6th Capitol Hill riot, many of whom are being held in harsh conditions for non-violent charges. The Regime Media reacted viciously to the event in the weeks prior, calling it “Insurrection 2.0”, resulting in proactive measures by Capitol police [D.C. Police Activate Entire Force for Upcoming Pro-Jan. 6 Rally, by Corbin Bolies, The Daily Beast, August 20, 2021] including the re-erection of border fences to keep would-be troublemakers away from the premises [Fencing to be reinstalled ahead of ‘Justice for J6’ rally defending those arrested in Capitol riot, by Mike DeBonis , Marianna Sotomayor and Ellie Silverman, The Washington Post, September 13, 2021]. I guess walls do work! But it wasn’t only the Regime Media spreading fear about the event. Numerous online accounts urged patriots not to attend the rally, claiming it was a set-up to arrest more Trump supporters [Paranoia and accusations cloud efforts to launch 'Justice for January 6' rally, by Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny, NBC, September 16, 2021]. Even President Trump was wary of the protest and referred to it as a “setup” [In Exclusive Interview, Trump Calls Sept. 18 Rally A ‘Setup,’ Says GOP Senate Should Fire ‘Disaster’ McConnell, by Sean Davis, The Federalist, September 16, 2021].
We attended the September 18 rally, and what we found was not a glow-op of CIA agents kidnapping attendees into unmarked white vans, but rather a bald cuckservative jerk, a few worthy congressional candidates seeking to win their respective primaries, and a former female champion boxer with a lot of heart.
As expected, there was heavy security protecting the Capitol. Dump trucks filled the streets to block the flow of traffic and access to the mall. But what’s more interesting was the private security who attended the rally.
Notice anything strange?
How about now? Your eyes don’t deceive you. That’s Black Lives Matter! So now you must be thinking, surely these are the counter protestors blocking the stage in order to shut out the controversial event which was about to take place.
Nope. It looks like Matt Braynard paid them off as private security. How inclusive!
As you can imagine, Black Lives Matter did not actually endorse the event. Those who weren’t lucky enough to allegedly get on the Look Ahead America payroll were across the street counter-protesting and causing trouble.
So why hire BLM? Why not the Proud Boys or one of the many pro-Trump militia groups who attended January 6th? Well it’s likely not only because they actively discouraged attending the event, calling it a “guaranteed disaster.” [“Guaranteed Disaster”: Proud Boys Discourage Members From Attending September 18 Rally in DC, by Andrew Beaujon, Washtingtonian, September 7, 2021].
As VDARE.com has commented on many times in the past, the GOP has somewhat of an obsession with pointing out how much they love minorities. From Trump’s targeted campaigns for Latino and black voters, to cheering their minority and female candidates, they want you to know for certain that they are not racist, and here are some non-whites to prove it!
In many ways, I believe this is actually a bit racist in and of itself, but in reality it is just pathetic and counterproductive.
I’d also like to mention that all attendees of the rally were strictly urged not to bring any clothing, flags, or other materials related to causes other than those supporting the January 6th arrestees. Braynard actually personally asked some attendees to put their Trump flags away.
So why didn’t he ask his private security to discard BLM face masks?
Although race is by no means the most pressing issue regarding the content of Look Ahead America’s rally, the inclusion of BLM certainly is a conflict of interest. Consider the following excerpts from speeches that day:
Are you getting it now? Isn’t it ironic? You can imagine some of those private security might have even been featured rioting and looting in the footage Braynard featured directly behind them. How can Look Ahead America stand by BLM and genuinely represent the patriots of January 6th, knowing full well that they were the targets of violent attacks by Antifa/BLM for the entire four years Trump was in office.
Matt Braynard himself was a Trump staffer, albeit briefly. Did he forget the violent threats his President suffered at the hands of these thugs?
Well, this perplexed me as I stood among the crowd, so I decided to ask Braynard myself. Here’s what he had to say: “PFFFT.”
Yes, he made a fart noise with his mouth. Then he turned around and walked away. At this point I was thoroughly satisfied and forgot all about my doubts. Not.
Now, look. We didn’t just show up to this rally in order to harass Braynard. Some people did this, and it amused me. However, I personally contacted Look Ahead America in the weeks prior to their event to ensure that we would be able to interview Matt and record the stage without incident. We had nothing but good intentions and gave the rally the benefit of the doubt. Following up with a private phone call, I was assured by Kimmie Gonzalez, National Director of Government Affairs for Look Ahead, that I was included on a press list and the top brass of LAA would be aware of our presence there. As a thanks for cooperating with our coverage of the event, I even stated that I would share my footage with the organization for their own professional use in promoting future events.
When we arrived, I quickly spotted Matt Braynard giving interviews to various press in the crowd, so I jumped at the opportunity to introduce myself respectfully. This is my first contact with the Braynard:
What a guy.
Needless to say, I didn’t even bother recording the stage due to the overwhelming coverage of the event by virtually every foreign and national news agency with an office in D.C., and my personal footage remains exclusively with VDARE.com. If only I was with MSNBC! …
Video: Braynard: My good friend and journalist at MSNBC!
So in lieu of a Braynard interview, I sneakily convinced one of his organizers to talk to me. He claims to be a big fan of VDARE.com, and I was as shocked as I was happy to hear that. Here’s what he had to say about BLM being hired as security for the event:
Video: Look Ahead America Organizer Anders on BLM Security
It’s a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” situation. It reeks of naivety and ignorance when BLM is denouncing you just a few hundred feet away, and considering rally speakers pointed out that BLM has been getting off the hook for their rioting.
Keep reading VDARE.com, Anders!
Matt Braynard didn’t even seem to be familiar with the counter-arguments against the Regime Media Narrative on January 6th. Take this:
Video: Braynard reiterates Jan. 6 protestors attacked and killed police officers
Let me be clear that it is a matter of fact that no protester at the Capitol on January 6th killed a member of the Capitol Police.
Video: Braynard - reaction of Patriots on J6 was “Stupid and Wrong!”
“Stupid and wrong.” I’m sure they’re glad you’re championing them, Matt. But, whatever. Enough of Braynard.
Video: Braynard shows AOC. Crowd boos. Braynard says DONT BOO HER!
So what did the attendees of the rally think of BLM security?
Video: Scott Interview: We’re all human beings
Isn’t that touching. However, Scott did have a lot to say about Immigration:
Video: Scott Interview: Immigration
Taking pick of who can and can’t come in. That would be fantastic. It would be great if at least Look Ahead America was capable of taking pick of who was welcome at their rally. Here’s anti-Trump group Code Pink in attendance at the rally.
And look who else!
Wow! There he is with the Founder of Code Pink, Medea Benjamin. (She’s telling him that some people were so arrested at the Kavanaugh Incursion, and she was…fined $50!)
What a tolerant conservative. Okay, for real this time, enough of The Braynard.
I mentioned earlier that one speaker at the event, Cara Castronuova, is a “female boxer with a lot of heart.” And I mean that. Her organization, Citizens Against Political Persecution, is doing great work in exposing the lies surrounding January 6th, and she’s risking her sports career to do that work.
We all know that Ashli Babbitt was murdered needlessly. However, Castronuova is working hard to disprove the egregious lie that January 6 protestor Roseanne Boyland died of a drug overdose on the Capitol steps.
Video: Castronuova: Roseanne Boyland did not die of a drug overdose
Video: Roseanne Boyland trampled by police on Capitol steps
Castronuova was also kind enough to share stories she personally received from family members of incarcerated January 6 patriots. Their letters described the horrible conditions those men and women are facing while they await court dates scheduled for 2022. Here is just one of those letters:
Video: Cara Castronuova reads Nicole Reffitt's letter
Then again, she did the typical “I’m not a racist” thing:
Video: Castronuova: I am not a White Supremacist!
It’s all so tiresome.
Jeff Zink, a congressional candidate in Arizona's 7th District, spoke about his encounter with the FBI following his attendance at the Capitol on January 6th with his son. He claims his son was with him throughout the entire protest, yet when an investigation was launched by the FBI, only his son was arrested for his participation in the riot.
Video: Jeff Zink: FBI Cleared Him after Jan 6, Arrested Son
There are two speakers left to mention, and they are Congressional candidates Mike Collins and Joe Kent from Georgia's 10th District, and Washington State's 3rd District respectively. Here are the best lines:
Video: Mike Collins: Do Not Defund Police
Video: Mike Collins: Current J6 detainees not treated equally to Leftists
Joe Kent spoke for only a few minutes and ultimately came to the conclusion that we should convince Leftists to care about the January 6th protestors. I don’t doubt his intentions, but what exactly would this accomplish?
Here’s where I’d write a conclusion to the whole day and sum it all up in a nice paragraph. However, I think VDARE.com writer J.R. Kipling. who also covered the January 6 protest, summed up Look Ahead’s rally the best:
Video: Kipling on Look Ahead America Rally: Justice For J6
Overall, the rally had its moments. I support Look Ahead America’s efforts to bring national awareness to the suffering of January 6th arrestees rotting away in solitary confinement as they await court dates now scheduled for 2022 without any means of contacting friends or family. However, the protestors who entered the Capitol did so to show the Ruling Class that they were tired of being treated to lies and manipulation by their elected officials. The January 6th protestors weren’t “stupid,” as Matt Braynard seems to think. I highly doubt they would be happy to know that Braynard is championing them with the same Politically Correct rhetoric from Washington D.C. that dissidents on the Right have been lamenting for years.
I would like to end by saying the start of fall marks moth season in D.C. Walking back to the Union Station parking garage, I found this large Polyphemus caterpillar making his way to a nearby tree where it would soon cocoon and transform.
Maybe it was the delirium of Look Ahead’s rally wearing off, but it was a refreshing sight of nature after another depressing look at the social, political, and urban decay of Washington D.C.
Peter Brimelow, please stop sending me to this wasteland.
Noah Arnold [email him] is a full-time video producer working with deplatformed personalities across the dissident right.
