The College Fix

ANALYSIS: Most D.C. rally attendees were peaceful, did not break into the Capitol

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The mainstream media has tried to lump all supporters of President Trump in with a relatively small amount of goons who committed violence and vandalism at the Capitol last week.

The portrait treats thousands of Trump supporters, who were primarily concerned with the integrity of the election, as if they were all part of the group of agitators who caused the mayhem.

I woke up at 3 a.m. on January 6 to catch a bus leaving from Richmond, Virginia that was heading to D.C. to attend the Save America March and show my support for the president. When the bus finally arrived in D.C., hundreds of thousands of Trump supporters and I made our way to the South Lawn to hear the president and a few of his family members and political allies speak.

“We Love Trump” chants at the Save America March pic.twitter.com/MM0UoAtRs1

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 6, 2021

The morning temperature may have been low, but our spirits were high as we saw our president at what was quite possibly his last political rally.

The attendees were peaceful and the scene looked like a regular rally of Republicans. Flags bearing Trump’s name and American flags were aplenty. A mix of old and young were there, including a number of College Republicans and other student activists.

After the rally, many of these attendees peacefully marched through the streets, as is common in D.C.

The afternoon of that day was a different story. After President Trump finished his speech at around 1 p.m., his supporters marched over to Capitol Hill to show their support for him. While most supporters marched towards the Capitol civilly and a few went home after the president spoke (myself included), some broke into the Capitol and invaded the building.

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Media reports and video on social media confirm that a clear majority of the attendees were not part of the mob that committed violence. Now because of what the intruders did to the Capitol, the media and those who oppose Trump have an opportunity to smear both him and his followers.

While there were Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol, most of those who listened to the president’s speech and marched in D.C. did not attempt a break in, and stood outside to show their support for the president. Despite this, most people are focusing on the number of people who got inside.

The mainstream media has utilized the actions of a few dozen to denigrate both the president and his supporters. But when most of his supporters stood outside of the Capitol without attempting to break into the building, a large portion of the story that is being told on the internet is being left out. Many Trump supporters, like Trey Hampton, did not intend to act violently in the turnout of a Biden administration.

“I won’t riot like Black Lives Matter,” Hampton told The College Fix during an in-person interview at the rally. “I’ll probably just kinda admit to the fact that, ‘Oh well, I mean that’s the president!’ They’ll [Biden supporters] learn their lesson once they realize that he’s a bad president.”

When the president spoke during his speech, he encouraged the news media present to point their cameras at the gigantic crowd behind them to give those watching from home an idea of how many people came out to support the president.

The media chose to ignore the president, and they are now ignoring that the majority of his supporters who did not invade the Capitol.

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IMAGE: Daily Mail/YouTube

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