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BP added more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy over the past two years by making investments from coast to coast. Investments like building EV charging hubs in Washington state and starting up new infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. It's and, not or. See what doing both means for energy nationwide at bp.com slash investing in America. The image of Saturday, of Donald Trump with blood running down the side of his face.
being escorted off the stage by Secret Service with his fist proudly in the air, is already iconic. And almost immediately, it was clear that this moment, just days before the start of this week's Republican National Convention, was also a turning point in this race. Seeing him...
just pump his fist and tell us to keep fighting. This is the warrior that America needs right now. And this is the man. Trump's allies have already made today part of a clear political message. The Democrat Party continues to foment violence with an obsession against Donald Trump. We cannot be surprised when people take that serious and say we must eliminate that threat.
that Trump and his party are under attack. It's been an all-out assault on Donald Trump, the person, for years now. So while we don't know how the shooting will affect the race electorally, we do know that this sense of persecution has long been core to Trump's appeal.
In fact, we'd been following a group of his supporters who uniquely embodied that message. Every night, these folks show up at the corner of 19th and E Street in southeast Washington, D.C. And they hold a vigil dedicated to the people who participated in the January 6th insurrection.
It's been going on for more than 700 nights. Today, a special episode on the first day of the Republican National Convention. Trump the martyr and how the politics of persecution has become the shared language of the right. From the New York Times, I'm Ested Herndon. This is The Run-Up. On an exceptionally muggy night in June...
My colleague Anna and I showed up to this nightly vigil, not exactly sure of what to expect. When we got there, a handful of folks were gathered around a loudspeaker and an American flag. In most other political spaces, January 6th is a dirty word, an encapsulation of the division that engulfed the country during Trump's first administration. But here, there's no shame, as many take pride in supporting Trump in what they think was his time of need.
So after we arrived, the group got down to business. So today we did go to Andrew Taki's sentencing. Agenda item number one, sentencing updates. He was genuinely sorrowful for his assault. And once again, it didn't really matter at the end of the day.
Earlier that day, some of the folks here had attended the sentencing of a January 6th-er, Andrew Taki, who pleaded guilty to using bear spray against police officers. Yes.
They all come down to what they were going to do anyway, and they were going to sentence him to what they could sentence him to. Gave him four months off of the horrible conditions that he had to suffer through here in the D.C. jail during post-COVID conditions. Then, on to agenda item number two. Hello, Patriot. Hello, hello, my people. Calls inside. How are you? I'm doing great. Who am I speaking with? This is Sherry.
Each night, the Vidrigores take a call from the jail just a few feet away and talk to a January 6th-er. Tonight, they spoke with Jonathan from Ohio, who's currently awaiting sentencing. Tonight, it's pretty muggy out here. We're expecting rain, but... I'd love to feel that rain right now. I'm sure. Sure.
They talk about the weather. You know, I'm educating myself a little better. I'm writing letters. I'm not a big seller. I'm not a big, I'm not a good reader. So I'm working on things myself. You know, I'm really, really happy to work. How he's passing the time. What's new in the world out there? Anything I missed? Well, there's been a lot going on in the news as far as the trial for Trump in Georgia has pretty much dissolved itself from one of the judges.
And of course, the election. Yeah, I'm hearing there's a lot of unhappy supporters in the Joe Biden area. Yes, there absolutely is. And it, you know, it's been refreshing that they're not afraid to speak up and say, we've had enough. We've supported you. We've been behind you and you are destroying our country.
The call lasted about 15 minutes.
You have one minute remaining. Well, thank you, everybody. This is the last few seconds. You know, I really appreciate you guys being here for me. But knowing that you guys are outside, it's amazing in the rain. God bless everyone there. And thanks for everybody watching. God bless you, brother. We love you, bitch. You have a blessed night. You too. See you, guys. Bye now. Then, Nicole Reffitt, who gave the sentencing updates earlier, got back on the mic.
You know, because everybody, you know, this is Jan 6th is not going away. For agenda item number three. You know, once again, we need you to be activated out there. A call to action. If you want to go down to your courthouse and say, you know, I am America first, you need to get up and do it. Now is the time. You need to make sure your neighbor is registered to vote. You need to make sure you have a plan on time.
voter day to have, you know, to have your friend. You need to say, we're doing this together. This cannot be something that you're hoping that other people are going to do for you. During a break, I pull Nicole aside. She's one of the OGs. The first night of the vigil was actually the night her husband, Guy Reffitt, was sentenced to prison. But Nicole, she stuck around D.C. and actually moved here and attended most of the vigils since then.
When was your husband tried and convicted? Okay, so his trial was the end of February, the beginning of March of 22. He was sentenced August 1st of 22, and that was the night of the first night of the vigil. Can you just take me to before that? Like, were you there at the 6th? What did you think when that was happening? Did you expect this to become so much of a part of your life?
No, I wasn't there on January 6th. It was a family decision that my husband would go. Our case was quite public because it was our son that turned my husband in. So my husband was taken in January 16th of 21 and he's been detained ever since. I agreed with my husband going on January 6th for many reasons, not just the integrity of the election. Can you tell me the reasons?
Well, you know, during COVID, what I really thought was just a lot of overreach after, you know, the first few months of COVID. I really felt there was a lot of government overreach. And from then on, I was very outspoken as far as publicly in our area about the government not being able to mandate what my freedoms are.
at that time. Between COVID and then after the election, you felt good about your husband going on the 6th when he made that decision. Yes, I did. Because, you know, lots of people just believed that it was just the election. But, you know, many lives were very much impacted by
COVID and the lockdowns and what that did to your average families, people's incomes, you know, a lot of mental health issues. There are just a myriad of issues that came about of COVID. And then the election came up and it wasn't that we're saying absolutely no, this did not happen.
But you're talking about a generation that came from seeing, you know, an election between Bush and Gore be very much up in the air. And so now we see something more that I feel is in our face. And of course, we wanted to go and have our voices heard. What were you thinking when you were watching the TV that day with what, you know, was clearly devolving into, I think, a different type of scene than maybe folks expected? What were you thinking from home?
Well, you know, I was quite taken back because anyone that I knew that was going was very much of anticipation of Antifa because of the prior rallies.
being held. There was a lot of preparation in case there was going to be confrontation. Almost everyone I know was preparing for that. The narrative that the government has put out, whether you like it or not, is that they were preparing to take over the government. People were preparing for violence, yes, but it wasn't against the government. You're saying, you're making a distinction between
Not trying to perpetuate violence against the government, but preparing to defend themselves against the possibility of an Antifa disruption at the thing. Right. And I know that at least in the Reffitt family, when my husband was leaving, that was what he was anticipating, not so much the overthrow of the government.
The thing I actually wanted to focus on is how this interaction with the justice system has changed the way you view politics or changed the way that you think about presidential election or anything like that. So can you actually go through, like, you know, you mentioned that it was your son who turned to men. What chain of events did that start off? And how much did you have to catch up to learning about legal and criminal justice system?
Okay, so the family situation we're dealing with, because it's been so public, it's been harder to deal with because everyone has an opinion. So it's been a process, especially with my husband incarcerated. It's hard to have that moment, you know, that connection.
We're working on it. So that is what I will say with that. And I'm very close with my daughters. And so all of that is working. Not ideal, but working. And the other part of that question, you know, with my family and how all this came about, I had no knowledge of how the system itself worked.
When I saw what happened to my husband, I really was like, wait a second, wait a second. Is this how this works? And it was. So and I thought, oh, is it because it's this political persecution? What is this?
As now that I've been in it almost four years and really looking at it, no, this isn't a particular, just a Jan 6 situation with this system. I'm just seeing it for the first time. This manipulation that they use against people, the entire intimidation of the DOJ, they have your entire life in their hands and they use a plea against
just to clear their books without any regard for what that really means to you. You are giving away all your rights at that moment. And this government makes you feel like that you have no other choice. And it's not just Jan Sixers that have to go through that. There are people that are in jail now. The majority of them are probably serving a lot of time they don't deserve because of the intimidation of the system against them.
That's the question. Like, what did you like? Laws were broken on the 6th. And I get your point about it being the kind of consequence being bigger than the crime. But like, what was supposed to happen? You know, I guess what I'm saying, like, were they supposed to, like, let it go? You know, you know, because people even ask us quite a bit, you know, my personal stance on the pardons and what have you. I'm not a big
person on the blanket pardon. You see that there were bad actors that day. We give a blanket pardon out there. There are people who actually committed really bad crimes against this country that should not get away with it. And I'm talking about all the way up that ladder, things we don't even know yet. If we put that pardon out there, there are people that should be held accountable that won't be. And my stance is my husband should not have been charged with nothing.
He's just been overly charged and then now persecuted for those, for that. That's why you're saying it's a system point. It's because you're saying the overcharging and the way that they kind of use that to, you know. Politicized. It's politicized. Did you feel like this about the criminal justice system before this happened? No, I had no idea. I had no idea. I thought it was a system that was working. Because if you don't have someone that is directly involved, and I wasn't in any type of legal system,
I had no idea. I think that I just thought that justice was a real thing. And I think a lot of Americans thought that. It's been broken for a really long time, though. It's not just Jan Sixers, because we are advocating for our Jan Sixers, because those are our people that are in there. But there are really inherently...
broken things wrong with this system. People are set up to fail going in. You know, the oppression of the government, even like how you hear that we can't find some people. That is not unusual, come to find out. You know, people from underserved communities, people that English is the second language, you will lose your people in the system. It's not set up
for you to care for them from the outside. And I had no idea, just did not know. But it is inhumane. He's making now this the kind of crux of his campaign to say, you know, I'm being persecuted and this can happen to you. Similar message to what you all are saying here. Do you think that's going to resonate?
Well, yeah, I think it probably does already resonate. You know, I mean, there's a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds and communities that have already seen what this DOJ and the system can do to you. So I don't think that he's just speaking to a Jan 6 crowd there. I think he's speaking to people that have been in a system that has been, you know, inherently corrupt for a long time.
And finally, someone is going to give them a voice is what I think. So you see that as what Trump's role here is? I honestly do. You know, I probably doubt that he even knew how bad it was, you know, because you hope and pray that our checks and balances work as they should. But they haven't and they haven't been for a long time.
You know, in political circles that we follow, some people worry about the possibility of a second January 6th, you know, after this election. You know, as someone who has now been really close to that day, what do you think about that possibility? Do you think that we're in for an election that's smoother or just as bumpy or even more bumpy?
You know, I think at least from my point of view and in my circles, we're just really activated and being very proactive this cycle from beginning to end. And, you know, I don't think I just think you need to be out in your community. I think we need to be more, you know, knocking on doors. We need to be on the ground, making sure that we're doing everything we can to make sure that the vote and the election, you know, has integrity.
Beyond that, I don't feel like another January 6th will happen. We've learned a lot in the last three years, three and a half years. You know, I don't think that the public will be walking into a situation like that again. Well, let me ask you a more fundamental thing. Do you expect the results to be accepted in the same way that January 6th felt like? The impetus there was, you know, people not feeling like the results were fair. Is that a possibility again?
You know, I mean, I think if you see the same things play out in the overnight hours, maybe the same way, you know, would happen. What happened on January 6th is truly, really unfortunate because people went to have their voices heard to have the vote turned back to the states. Things got out of control before that was able to happen. And, yeah.
then other things are able to come through and happen. So that is something that I think that we all regret of the day. I wasn't even there. So I pray that if we do come up to a situation that is like that again, that everyone stands and holds their line peacefully and patriotically and make sure this time that if there is a question that we do make sure they go back to the states.
You mentioned it in your conversation with the Stead, but also up, you know, during the vigil. You're advocating for people to vote. You're advocating for people to get out there and cast a vote. When you're also talking about, like, a system that is deeply unfair, do you find holding, like, this is an unfair system and please participate in that system, is that a tough sell at all? It is so. It is a very tough sell. It's a tough sell for anyone because, you know, after...
you know, seeing what happened with the last election. But these are the ways that we have to be advocates right now. You know, this is the legal way we have to do it. This is the peaceful way that we have to do it. And we have to exhaust all of those avenues that we can. We can't give up on that. We have to continue to get out and have a belief in that this system will work.
I know it is hard for me to advocate for that because I do feel like the last election lacked a lot of integrity and I would have loved to see more about that. But these are the legal avenues that we have right now and we have to use those and I have to advocate for those right now. As we were talking with Nicole, it was time for agenda item number four.
Here's the roll call, though. Y'all are going to want to hear it. The roll call. Roseanne Boylan, Kevin Greeson, Benjamin Phillips, and the following day, Officer Brian Sicknick. Rest in peace. Those J6ers that are currently detained. Dennis Adams, Justin Adams, Tommy Allen, Chris Alberts. It's a list, a long one, of people who died or are currently incarcerated because of the events of January 6th.
After each person's name, one of the other vigil goers chimes in with hero. In total, at least seven people have died in connection with the events at the Capitol on January 6th, a stark reminder of just how pervasive political violence has already become, even before the events on Saturday. More after the break.
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I'm Julian Barnes. I'm an intelligence reporter at The New York Times. I try to find out what the U.S. government is keeping secret. Governments keep secrets for all kinds of reasons. They might be embarrassed by the information. They might think the public can't understand it. But we at The New York Times think that democracy works best when the public is informed.
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Welcome to agenda item number five of the January 6th vigil outside the D.C. jail. At 9 p.m. sharp, another call is placed inside the jail. And both the people outside and inside start warming up their pipes. Together, they sing the national anthem.
And then, the vigil goers wrap up their night with a song that's now become synonymous with Trump. And we stand and sing.
God bless the USA. I wish for this moment in particular that we were a video podcast because then you could see what I saw. They ended the song with a kick line beaming from ear to ear.
as they rejoiced in this community and their love for this country. After they wrapped up, I wanted to ask about that patriotism and what America they were fighting for. And so, after they wrapped up the vigil, I caught up with a woman named Jen Baker,
A regular vigil-goer. It's such an interesting, like, you know, proud to be an American, like a lot of national anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, when obviously the cases brought against you all are from the government. I mean, how do you feel about the... The government is not our country. I mean, it's a whole different thing, right? We are the people. And it's... We all have, like, such strong feelings of love for our country.
And the government is something that is just in the way right now, like, as far as...
treating the American people as, you know, like they're trained in. As a separation between government and country, is that recent? You know what? I didn't really know much about government. I wasn't... We weren't taught the things that we're learning today. You know, we were taught certain things, and now we're all learning exactly how government works, unless you, you know, specifically learn that or, you know, live in this city, maybe...
go to the places here that have all that. Is it just Biden's government? Or would you feel the same way if it was a Trump government or something else like that? If this stuff was happening? 100% I'd feel the same way. No. No, this is weaponization of our government against the people.
I'm curious what you thought about Trump's conviction. I mean, obviously, he's faced a number of legal problems and he's tried to talk about in terms of being persecuted. Similar language that I hear somewhat here. Do you see a connection between? OK, yeah. I was wondering whether you saw that as a connected thing. I mean, you heard tonight about the courtroom and what happened in there and the stuff that's going on in the courtrooms with the J-6ers is the same thing that's going on in the courtroom with Trump.
He's being treated very similarly to what's going on to the J6ers. So... Some people were surprised when Trump fared better in the Republican primary after getting indicted. Were you surprised that these legal problems haven't hurt him politically in the same way that maybe some people expected? Was I surprised that they didn't hurt him? Yeah, I'm saying... Like, that he gained more followers or support? I'm not surprised one bit. Um...
It's being shown that Trump is being treated as many of the prisoners that are in the D.C. jail and all around the B.O.P. have been treated for ever. Everybody needs to pay attention to this. Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, independents, all them. Everybody needs to pay attention to it because as of right now, like whether you're
Make no mistake.
This group is not representative of the Republican Party as a whole, especially those outside Trump's MAGA base. But what the people at the vigil provide is an insight to how a certain slice of the electorate, the slice most committed to Donald Trump's candidacy, is ingesting this political moment and its stakes. So, um, hey guys. So, this weekend, after the events in Pennsylvania, where a gunman killed one Trump rally-goer,
critically injured two others, and sent a bullet whizzing past Trump's head. Like, it really scares me a little bit because people are getting very desperate. Like, the deep state is getting very desperate, y'all, and they just tried to kill our president. And, you know, I know he's not the president right now, but God willing, he will be back in office in January. I wanted to go back to the vigil and see how the people there were taking the news. But prayers for everybody there. And, um...
I was already on my way to Milwaukee, so I tuned in to one of the Vigil live streams.
They talked to the men calling from jail about what happened. Yeah.
They blame the so-called deep state and the left. It's sad. It's very sad that this is where we're at. But to all of you people in states that you can, you know, be locked and loaded, be ready. And they made clear that they were prepared to fight in defense of Trump. So, um...
Later that evening, an inmate named David got on the phone. I just, uh, I want to say, you know, to the victim of the piece of shit,
that's trying to kill our president. You know, I don't know if this ever reached your ears, but if it does, I extend my deepest condolences and sympathies to you. You know, I had to watch TV and think that my president got assassinated today, and I had to hear a bunch of us scream and yell and freak out and be trapped in this box.
with the inability to do anything, uh, to, you know, except to basically run around like a, like a trapped rat in a maze. And, uh, you know, it was a very scary feeling. And it wasn't just because of our situation, but just because of the situation for the country as a whole. And, um, uh, I, I hope everybody out there knows that, uh, you know,
Those people deserve none of what happened to them. And President Trump deserved nothing what happened to him. But we need to acknowledge the people who are responsible for filling the heads of idiots that go out and do stuff like that. And that's people like the mainstream media, the intelligence community, and the government, who's lied for years and years and years about Donald Trump.
Right. Absolutely.
So, I'm sorry if I'm being a little, you know... You know, you don't have to apologize for your emotions. I think we're all feeling these emotions that you're talking about, you know, and I'm appreciative for you to say it because, you know, it's not always easy to say all the things that we're feeling inside of ourselves. And, yeah, I was terrified for a moment. I...
I just didn't know what to think. And I am very, very thankful that, you know, he's okay and he's going to be okay. And, you know, it...
If this doesn't wake people up, then nothing will. But I think this unfortunate happening will wake enough people up that we should be able to unite and we should be able to come together as a country, you know, as Americans. Because we don't stand for that kind of political violence. We don't. That's not who we are.
And to the Secret Service and anybody else, the police, and many law enforcement, we're really thankful for when you guys put your lives on the line and help innocent people. And like you said, I'm just really glad that Trump's okay because I didn't know if he was.
And that shit really fucked me up. And I just... I really let y'all made. And I just...
It would just kill me to know, because not only for the man who sacrificed so much for all of us, but the country as a whole. You know, J6 thing and partisan. I don't even care about that. Let's talk about the status of our nation and what it meant for us, for everybody, whether you're a manga or not. You have one minute remaining.
You guys all have a wonderful night out there. Stay blessed. And I'll talk to you guys soon. And I'll find somebody else. Stay strong. All right. You guys have a good night. Appreciate it. Love is reciprocated. Take care. Good night. To me, this says everything about Trump's message and its resonance. David, a man incarcerated for political violence, devastated by what happened to his president this weekend.
Because, to the people here, Donald Trump was never the source of political division. He was the victim of an unjust system that will stop at nothing to block him. Hours after the shooting, the inmates and the vigil goers sang the national anthem. But at the end, they did something different. They echoed a version of Trump's words as he was pulled from the stage. Fight for Trump.
We'll see you tomorrow from Milwaukee.
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The run-up is reported by me, Ested Herndon, and produced by Elisa Gutierrez, Caitlin O'Keefe, and Anna Foley. It's edited by Rachel Dry and Lisa Tobin, with original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Pat McCusker, Diane Wong, Sophia Landman, and Alicia Baitube. It was mixed by Sophia Landman and Chris Wood, and fact-checked by Caitlin Love.
Special thanks to Paula Schumann, Sam Dolnick, Larissa Anderson, David Halfinger, Maddie Maciello, Mahima Chablani, Nick Pittman, and Jeffrey Miranda. Do you have questions about the 2024 election? Email us at therunupatnytimes.com. Or better yet, record your question using the Voice Memo app on your phone, and then send us the file. That email again is therunupatnytimes.com.
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