The writer, an FBI agent for 31 years, retired as resident agent in charge of the Ann Arbor office in 2006. He has a law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law.
By Greg Stejskal
Trump at Waco rally
In March 2023, former president Trump held his first rally after declaring his intention to again run for president. The rally was in Waco, Texas. It was no coincidence that the Branch Davidian compound had been located just outside of Waco and is considered hallowed ground by some far-right extremists.
Trump’s first rally of 2024 presidential campaign was also in Waco, Texas.
In early 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian compound. Part of the probable cause for the search warrant was that the Davidians had a cache of fully automatic weapons. There was a momentary standoff with a shootout resulting in the death of four BATF agents and six Davidians and the wounding of several others on both sides. This began a 53-day siege of the compound by the FBI, BATF and Texas police agencies.
On April 19th, in an effort to end the siege in a non-lethal manner, tear gas was inserted into the compound. Rather than surrender, the Davidians set multiple fires within the compound. Seventy six Davidians died. Most were killed by self-inflicted gunshot wounds. No shots were fired by any members of the law enforcement agencies at the compound.
Timothy McVeigh
This was a major event in the radicalization of Timothy McVeigh and the reason he chose April 19, 1995, as the date when he bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. (Coincidentally, April 19th is also the day in 1775 when at Lexington, Massachusetts the first shot of Revolution was fired – “the shot heard around the world.” An event also revered by the far-right militia movement.)
Having the rally in Waco was a not very subtle message to the far-right groups not unlike Trump’s message during the 2020 presidential debate when Trump was asked to denounce White supremist and militia groups. Trump’s reply, “Proud Boys stand back and stand-by.”
At the beginning of Trump’s Waco rally, a recording of “Justice for All” was played — a song with the “The J6 Prison Choir” singing the Star-Spangled Banner, interspersed with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.” (Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to head the FBI, helped to produce the recording.) Playing on the “Jumbotron” above the stage was video of the J6 insurrection. The process of morphing the January 6th insurrection into a patriotic event had begun.
Disinformation Campaign
Following the January 6th insurrection, a disinformation campaign began wherein the insurrection was variously blamed on ANTIFA posing as Trump supporters or a “false flag” operation instigated by the FBI. The latter was promulgated by Tucker Carlson and later bolstered by a documentary, “Patriot Purge.” The so-called documentary was debunked by testimony and on the record statements of participants.
But Trump has at different times espoused both theories knowing they were false – most recently when he announced the J6 pardons. (Kash Patel has also pushed these baseless accusations in his book, Government Gangsters.)
On January 6,, 2021, Trump at a rally on the Washington Ellipse told his supporters to “peacefully” march to the Capitol and protest the stealing of the election. But Trump also told them to “fight like hell or you won’t have a country anymore.”
Thousands marched to the Capitol where they laid siege to the building and engaged in medieval-like combat with Capitol and Metropolitan police. Over 140 officers were injured, some seriously, in the melee. (One officer subsequently died from complications from his injuries.) The insurrectionists breached the Capitol causing an estimated $2.8 million in damage and loss of property, but more consequentially, they for the first time in the nation’s history obstructed the counting of the electoral ballots and the peaceful transfer of power. It was not “a day of love” as Trump later described it.
According to several witnesses in sworn testimony, Trump watched the entire insurrection on TV at the White House. Despite entreaties by staff and family, Trump refused to intercede. He did nothing for over three hours.
Finally, he sent a message and video via social media, wherein he instructed the insurrectionists to stop the siege and go home. He told them not to forget this day and “We love you; you’re very special.”
The insurrection ended. The electoral votes were counted. Over the next few days and weeks, the insurrection and Trump’s responsibility for it was renounced by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
Largest Investigation/Prosecution
The U.S. Department of Justice with the FBI began the largest investigation/prosecution in its history to identify and prosecute all those involved in the insurrection. Ultimately, almost 1,600 people were charged for their participation in the insurrection. Most of them pleaded guilty to felonies and misdemeanors. Over 200 were convicted at trial.
Trump during his 2024 campaign spoke of being “your retribution.” It wasn’t clear for whom he was seeking retribution. Trump did refer to J6ers as “patriots, political prisoners and hostages” and how they had been treated very “unfairly,” imprisoned in “horrible” facilities. He also spoke about pardoning the J6ers, but he indicated that he might not pardon those who committed acts of violence against police.
We now know the retribution that Trump spoke of was for all those involved in the J6 insurrection. On inauguration day, Trump granted clemency to everyone who was accused of committing a crime related to the insurrection – over 1,500 pardons and the commutation of the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Most of the 14 had been convicted of seditious conspiracy charges.
Enrique Tarrio (Photo by Jaredlholt)
Enrique Tarrio, the one-time leader of the Proud Boys who had been convicted and sentenced to 22 years confinement, thanked Trump and said, “Success is going to be retribution.” Tarrio indicated that those involved in the investigation and prosecution of January 6th needed to be put in jail. He and the Proud Boys are apparently continuing to stand-by.
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, had also been convicted of seditious conspiracy and was sentenced to 18 years confinement. Rhodes said he hoped Trump’s pick to head the FBI, Kash Patel, would “get in there and clean house” at the bureau.
Following the issuance of the pardons, Trump was asked why those who were involved in acts of violence against police were pardoned. Trump replied it would have been “too cumbersome” to review all the cases individually. I suspect not as cumbersome as it is for the police officers who defended the Capitol having to deal with the physical and mental trauma they experienced.
Pamela Hemphill
One heartening response to Trump’s retributive pardons was from Pamela Hemphill, a 71-year-old retired drug and alcohol counselor from Boise, Idaho, who had been convicted of misdemeanor trespassing and sentenced to 60 days confinement and three years probation. She refused to accept her pardon.
She said, “It’s an insult to the Capitol police, to the rule of law and the nation. If I accept a pardon, I’m continuing the propaganda, their gaslighting and all the falsehoods they’re putting out about January 6. They’re trying to rewrite history, that January 6th wasn’t an insurrection. And I don’t want to be a part of that. It was – it was an insurrection.”
“I lost my critical thinking. Now I know it was a cult, and I was in the cult (referring to the Stop the Steal movement).”
There is apparently at least one true patriot among the pardoned insurrectionists – one who has regained her “critical thinking.”
