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Virjilio Burciaga came all the way from California to celebrate Donald Trump’s inauguration in front of the Capitol — the first time the 48-year-old electrician had returned to the house of American democracy since he protested with a mob that stormed the building on January 6, 2021.
“At one point they were seeing us as insurrectionists,” he told The Independent, “now it’s changed to we’re all going to get pardoned, you know, that label has been lifted.”
And hours later, the newly reinstated President Trump did just that, promising that he would take action for the people he dubs the “J6 hostages,” meaning those currently accused or detained for offenses during the Capitol riot. Trump has promised to issue sweeping pardons for many of the 1,500 protesters jailed for the attack.
That is welcome news for Virjilio and his wife, Clara, who were both in attendance that day.
“I’m like, when are they gonna known down my door and take me out of my house right and throw me in jail,” Clara says, with the Capitol building behind her.
The couple believe there should be a distinction made between violent protesters and those who trespassed in the Capitol (although Virjilio insists he didn’t enter the building).
“These guys are political prisoners,” she continues. “All these real criminals are being pardoned by this [Biden] administration and what happened to our J6ers?”
The Californian couple also believe that those who faced charges should receive compensation.
“I don’t believe in lawsuits, but they need to get reimbursed for their time,” Virjilio says.
President Trump’s unlikely political comeback has brought with it a reimagining of the attack on the Capitol‚ starting with a weak condemnation of the violence on the day, and then later referred to it as a “day of love.”
After being criticised by most in his own party for his role in directing the riot, which was aimed at stopping certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election election, most Republicans have now joined Trump in playing down its significance.
And it was clear that this year’s inauguration day was a celebration for Jan 6 rioters thrilled about Trump’s return, a case of history being written by the winner.
Across town, near to the Capitol One Arena, a group of Proud Boys — the group most responsible for the January 6 insurrection — gathered in much diminished numbers to their last Capitol appearance.
The groups leader, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 39, of Miami, Florida, received one of the harshest sentences of everyone invoked in the attack, sentenced to 22 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
“No organization put more boots on the ground at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 than the Proud Boys, and they were at the forefront of every major breach of the Capitol’s defenses, leading the on-the-ground efforts to storm the seat of government,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, in September 2023, when Tarrio was sentenced.
Several members refused to be interviewed Monday by The Independent, but one masked member who identified himself as Harry Fox, says “the Proud Boys did nothing wrong.”
Fox says the attack on the Capitol was “the driving force” behind him joining the group, and that the attack was sparked by police attacking protesters.“
“How much is a crowd supposed to put up with — when you’ve stolen an election, you’ve ripped our constitution up for a year and then you steal an election and people show up, then you shoot into a crowd?” he asks.
“At what point are people supposed to just keep taking it — when you see Grandma getting hit in the head with a baton, when you see people praying, being sprayed in the face with mace, or when you see people standing there exercising their First Amendment right to assemble?”
The Independent, which was present at the January 6 riot, previously reported that the Proud Boys led an attack on police in an attempt to gain access to the Capitol and stop the certification of Biden’s win.
