Ed Martin, Deputy Policy Director, The chairman of the party’s platform committee was among the rioters outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, along with at least three others seen in photographs in that mob. Five former byelectors also serve as delegates, four of whom have been indicted on fraud, forgery and conspiracy charges.
Their role at the convention shows how pervasive election denialism has become within the party and how it has systematically embraced the first interruption to a peaceful transition of power since the Civil War.Even before Saturday’s assassination attempt prompted leaders of both parties to call for restraint in violent rhetoric, convention organizers had sought to avoid making Jan. 6 the centerpiece of the week’s programming, in contrast to the usual emphasis on Trump’s speeches and interviews.
“The overall view that we have right now is looking to the future,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in an interview last week before the assassination attempt. Asked if Jan. 6 would be on the agenda, Whatley replied, “No, not at all.”
Trump’s advisers don’t see the Jan. 6 election and allegations of election fraud as issues that will help Trump win with the voters he needs, and instead are seeking to frame the convention around issues that Republicans tend to support, such as the economy, crime, immigration and foreign policy. Still, the presence of the Jan. 6 participants and the critical response from Democrats is likely to complicate that effort as the shadow of Trump’s efforts to overturn the last election remains a driving force for his candidacy and his party.
“It’s absurd,” said Marc Short, chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, who rebuffed Trump’s push to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. “The convention shouldn’t do anything to distract attention from Biden, and doing something controversial like involving fake electors will do that.”
The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee are planning signs, bus wraps, press conferences and on-site surrogate speeches to promote the convention’s rival message in Milwaukee, including Trump’s promise to pardon those convicted in the Jan. 6 riot and his threats of more political violence if he loses again.
“Trump’s Republican Party is founded on election denialism and loyalty to Trump above all else,” said Hannah Muldavin, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee. “Trump’s far-right MAGA agenda has completely hijacked the Republican Party and its platform.”
Trump’s rallies have sometimes begun with the singing of the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance alongside prisoners charged in the riots, including some convicted of assaulting police officers. Since the riot, he has steadily praised the defendants, hailing them as battered patriots. At a rally in Florida last week, his reference to the “J6 people” elicited cries of “Free the hostages!”
“They’re only being persecuted because I’m running for president,” Trump said at a rally in Florida. Nearly 1,000 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted in connection with the riot, one-third of them for felonies and two-thirds for misdemeanors such as trespassing on the restricted Capitol building or its grounds. Four people died in the melee.
The risk of escalating political violence in America reached a new and tragic milestone with the shooting at a Trump rally on Saturday, which narrowly missed the former president and left one attendee dead and two more wounded. Authorities are investigating Saturday’s shooting as an assassination attempt but have yet to determine any motive for the gunman or find any evidence of an ideological link. Trump responded with a call for unity; Biden urged people to tone down the use of extreme political language.
Trump’s call to “fight!”, issued after the shooting, was repeated throughout the convention proceedings on Monday.
Monday’s primetime programming also included pre-recorded videos of Trump repeating his false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent and encouraging his supporters to vote early and by mail, even as he said he ultimately wants same-day voting with paper ballots.
Amy Kremer, one of the organizers of the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse and a recently elected national committee member from Georgia, said she was unaware of any Jan. 6-related programming planned for the convention and believes voters are focused on the economy, crime and immigration issues. “January 6 is not on people’s minds,” she said. [a] “This is an issue that the vast majority of Americans support,” she wrote in a text message, but she predicted the convention would probably also touch on other issues prioritized in the new Republican platform, such as “election integrity” and “weaponization of government.”
“President Trump will say what he wants and he’ll be honest, and that’s why we love him,” she said.
Some family members of the Jan. 6 defendants said they were disappointed, but not surprised, to be excluded from the rally plans. Jeri Perna, whose nephew committed suicide while awaiting sentencing on disorderly conduct and disruption charges, said she was not invited and that the rally should instead discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss disruption charges against some of the Jan. 6 defendants.
“Those in power on both sides know they’re guilty and are quick to forget,” said Nicole Reffitt, whose husband is serving an 87-month sentence for trespassing in a restricted building or grounds with a firearm. “It’s a mistake not to address this issue.”
Texas Representative Trisha Hope, who attended the rally but did not go to the Capitol, said in an interview Friday that she plans to come to Milwaukee wearing a “J6 POW” jacket to campaign on the proposed amnesty. The Trump campaign has said it would consider pardons on a case-by-case basis.
Arizona Sen. Janae Champ was photographed among the crowd gathered on the State Capitol’s Lower West Terrace on Jan. 6. When asked if she planned to take part in any conventions commemorating Jan. 6, she said she would like to commemorate either the first public demonstration of the telegraph on Jan. 6, 1838, or the death of Theodore Roosevelt on Jan. 6, 1919.
Wyoming Sen. Bob Eide, who serves on the Republican National Convention’s platform committee, was photographed on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 as he took to the scaffolding set up for the inauguration. Eide did not respond to a request for comment.
Another Arizona senator, Anthony Khan, who serves as a delegate in a battleground state and is running for Congress, was indicted as an alternate elector who falsely claimed Trump won the state in 2020. Khan said there were “much more important issues” during the convention than focusing on the aftermath of the 2020 election.
“I’m not focused on those things,” he said. “We’re focused on the future, on electing President Trump.”
The other Arizona delegates who served as special electors did not respond to requests for comment. Clauridis said he was unable to comment. Martin referred questions to the convention and the Trump campaign.
McDonald, the Nevada Republican Party chairman, gave a speech on Monday formally nominating Trump. After the 2020 election, McDonald worked with attorney Kenneth Chesbro to organize a slate of replacement electors that falsely claimed Trump had won the state. He testified before a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, and the FBI searched his phone. He has not been charged with a crime.
Nevada’s other delegate is national committee member Jim DeGraffenried, who worked with Chesbro on coordinating the special electors, according to an email obtained by the committee from Jan. 6. McDonald and DeGraffenried did not respond to requests for comment.
In Michigan, former state party co-chair Meshawn Maddock was elevated from alternate elector to delegate on Monday. Maddock registered as an alternate elector and falsely claimed Trump won Michigan in 2020, and was charged last year by the state attorney general for the scheme. Maddock has pleaded not guilty.
The Wisconsin delegation includes state Chairman Brian Shimming, who has discussed organizing the state’s special electors with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Chesbro, and Pam Travis, who served as a special elector and was elected to the national committee. The Wisconsin attorney general indicted Chesbro on conspiracy charges in June. Shimming and Travis have not been charged.
“Our main focus is the economy, Joe Biden’s ability to get border security restored,” said Matt Fischer, a Wisconsin party spokesman. “As far as Jan. 6, I don’t think anybody here is going to have an opinion on that.”
Hannah Knowles and Patrick Marley contributed to this report.
