“Liberation” day for the “hostages” of January 6

(Washington) Everyone waited in the dark and cold.

Then, a few minutes before 8 p.m., a woman saw a car pass. “There was a man with a beard, I think it’s Jake…”

One day after the general pardon of all the insurgents of January 6, 2021 decreed by Donald Trump, there were still around twenty detainees in the Washington prison on Tuesday evening. But no one knew when or how the “pardoned” would be released.

There were around a hundred supporters, webcasters, family members and journalists waiting in front of the detention center.

It was not a false rumor: Jake Lang, imprisoned for four years, still awaiting trial for assaulting Capitol police officers, had been taken a street away by prison authorities.

He is now a free man.

The 29-year-old gave a long hug to his father, Nad Lang, a small plumbing contractor from Pennsylvania. “I was really angry with my son when I found out what had happened,” the father told reporters 15 minutes before his release. But after two weeks, I watched the videos. And we see that the police attacked them. The police let them in, they made them fist bumps [poing-à-poing]… »

For him, as for a large number of Americans, federal justice has been politicized against people of good will.

Jake Lang, who can be seen on videos in combat gear on the day of January 6, 2021, has increased his challenges in court. He was finally due to have his trial in February for assaulting police officers.

All that is now erased, by the grace of Trump and, according to him, of God Himself. Because he found God in prison.

Bible in hand, the young man, who promises to tour the churches, spoke like a prophet.

“Peaceful men and women, who were attacked and defended themselves, when we could have fled, we maintained our positions in the people’s house, and we stood up as free men against tyranny. We no longer have to hide, crawl in the corners of Facebook and Instagram, we have X, we have Trump, we have Musk, we are back!

“President Trump, you were guided by God, you followed his path like the drops of water falling one by one to patiently fill the Grand Canyon, and turning into a torrent…”

Three other detainees were released at the same time Tuesday evening in Washington, where only those awaiting trial or sentence are imprisoned.

Across the country, convicts have been released from federal penitentiaries, while others, already released, have had their records expunged. About 1,000 people have been convicted or have pleaded guilty to various offenses surrounding the attack on the Capitol. About 400 others were awaiting trial, while others were still wanted by federal police.

All were purely and simply pardoned, except 14 convicted of the most serious crimes. They benefited from a commuted sentence, and are therefore free or about to be free. Among them, militia leaders like the Oath Keepers or the Proud Boys.

On Tuesday evening there were regulars at the support vigils that I saw this year around the prison.

But there was also one of the stars of the conspiracy world, Ivan Raiklin, a former “Green Beret”, the elite troops of the American army, who promises a new era of punishment for those who persecuted the “patriots”.

“I am the Secretary of Punishment and the Watchtower of the Deep State,” he told me. He has a list of around 1,400 people who must face the wrath of justice: prosecutors, journalists, high-ranking officers, politicians, etc. First on his list is General Mark Milley, chief of staff under Trump (but who called Trump a “fascist”). He deserves the death penalty for high treason, according to Raiklin.

“I want justice to be done fairly, according to our laws, by a jury. »

Micki Witthoeft, one of the founders of the support vigils, was there on Tuesday evening. She is not waiting for anyone to be released. Her daughter, Ashli ​​Babbitt, died that day. For two and a half years, evening after evening, she came to lend her moral support to the accused and condemned… and to say that her daughter was not a criminal.

“I just can’t wait to get back to San Diego,” she told me.

Roger, a veteran from North Dakota, moved to Washington to be here every evening, and to webcast the support evenings.

“I made some friends, but I can’t wait to go back to North Dakota, I hate this town,” he told me.

While the families of the accused and the condemned triumphed, those who suffered the assault on the Capitol felt abandoned by the new administration. Most Americans disapprove of these massive pardons, by the way.

Michael Fanone, one of the Capitol police officers attacked on January 6, 2021, said he was “betrayed by [son] country,” in an interview with CNN.

“Whether you voted for Trump for this reason or another, the fact remains that six individuals attacked me while I was doing my job, threatened my life and my family, and other of my colleagues. They are the champions of hypocrisy with their supposed support of law and order. »

And remember that Trump announced his candidacy in Waco, Texas, a highly symbolic place for anti-government militias.

But on this cold Tuesday evening in Washington, the “patriots” finally felt warmed by the federal government.