MAGA celebrates January 6

On Tuesday afternoon, exactly five years since January 6, 2021, a few hundred Proud Boys, insurrectionists, and their supporters stood outside the very building they stormed that day, and bowed their heads in prayer.

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The event—organized by Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was tried, charged, and pardoned for seditious conspiracy on January 6—wasn’t just a victory lap. It was a spiritual homecoming reunion, a celebration of new life and vindication for J6ers.

“It’s like living a biblical story,” said Jake Lang, a J6er who was pardoned for attacking police officers. “God opened up the lions’ den for Daniel, and he opened up the prison for me.” Lang is running to fill Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s vacated seat in the U.S. Senate, and railed against “Black on white crime” during his speech.

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“We won, man.… They tortured us for years, solitary confinement for years,” said Proud Boy Jon Mellis, who was jailed and later pardoned for assaulting law enforcement. He runs a viral right-wing Instagram account called “patriotwildman.”

“Now I’m living in West Hollywood and dating a Playboy Playmate. Hey, man, my life is pretty good,” Mellis continued. “We’re getting naked models in hot tubs every weekend. So what am I complaining for?” As I left, Mellis told me that the Proud Boys were “the greatest fraternity the world has ever seen.” (Mellis made an appearance later in the rally, grabbing the microphone to yell, “Blow up the fentanyl boats, leave the cocaine alone!!!” to the crowd.)

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“I think it’s really important that my guys run for office,” Tarrio told me. “And I’ve been encouraging them to run for office. You know, we’re very active in the local scene in Miami.”

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It’s clear that the insurrectionists feel as if they have a mandate. And don’t they? They invaded the U.S. Capitol, went to jail, and came out to a hero’s welcome from the president himself. There’s even an official White House page honoring the “peaceful patriotic protesters” of January 6.

So now, equipped with institutional legitimacy, smugness, and momentum, they’re setting their sights on elected office. We should be prepared for some of them to win.

  New Republic