On January 6, Congress will receive the electoral college votes that certified Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. It’s another opportunity for President Trump and his supporters to spread disinformation about his loss and undermine US democracy, so of course there will be yet another march for Trump fans in DC that day.
On niche social media sites like Parler and Wimkin, there’s some effort afoot to brand this as a “Million Militia March,” though there’s buzz about a January 20 march with that name as well. A spokesperson for the National Park Service says no applications for a January 6 demonstration are yet in its system.
The most recent dead-ender convention brought a wave of chaos into DC as militant Trump fans came to town “seeking violence,” as DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said of a weekend in which the Proud Boys group ripped Black Lives Matter banners from local churches to burn them and got into violent altercations with counterprotesters and others.
Trump, who gassed protesters who disagreed with him this past summer, encouraged this protest, encouraging his fans to come to DC on January 6: “Be there, will be wild!” he tweeted.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
