A coalition of Trump loyalists, conspiracy theorists, and far-right forces will descend on Washington, D.C., Tuesday and Wednesday—for the third time since the Nov. 3 election—to protest Joe Biden's victory as president-elect. The events are presented as the coalition's last-ditch effort to keep President Donald Trump in power with rallygoers calling on the U.S. Congress to not certify the election results, a process scheduled for Wednesday. In truth, there is virtually no chance for any objections to certification to keep Biden, who received 7 million more votes than Trump, from taking office on Jan. 20. The real effect of the demonstrations, if there is one, is likely to create a self-perpetuating grievance narrative for Trump-allied Republicans to peddle to the Trump base in elections to come.
Similar to previous events, competing personalities and groups put themselves forward as the “real” organizers of the main outdoor event scheduled for Wednesday, which has been referred to as “March to Save America” and “Million MAGA March.” Among the groups participating are the so-called Stop the Steal campaign, Turning Point Action, Rule of Law Defense Fund, Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, Moms for America, Women for America First, Tea Party Patriots, Eighty Percent Coalition, and Black Conservatives Fund. The Twitter account @MillionMAGAMarch, which is unaffiliated with Stop the Steal, claims to be “the REAL Official Million Maga March Twitter Account,” as reported by Politico.
While some extremists, including members of the Proud Boys hate group, have already found their way to D.C., many more will be arriving for Tuesday’s rally at Freedom Plaza, the gathering point for two recent pro-Trump rallies designed to discredit the presidential election. That rally will be held from 1 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST and appears to be led in part by the Eighty Percent Coalition and the so-called Stop the Steal campaign led by Ali Alexander, which was the prominent force in the two prior marches on Washington.
The main event is to take place Wednesday and be held at the Ellipse in the President’s Park, just south of the White House, at 9 a.m., according to a text message sent by the Stop the Steal campaign. Following a lineup of high-profile right-wing speakers and lawmakers, Trump is expected to make an appearance and address the rallygoers.
Another rally will be held outside the U.S. Capitol at 1 p.m. Stop the Steal organizers point rallygoers to a separate website for that event, at WildProtest.com. Trump himself promoted this convergence on Twitter. "Be there, will be wild!" Trump tweeted.
Among the speakers expected to grace rally podiums over the two days:
- Ali Alexander, a right-wing political operative who is the leading organizer of the so-called Stop the Steal campaign and the campaign’s two prior events protesting the election results in Washington. Alexander launched his first Stop the Steal campaign with Roger Stone in Florida’s 2018 Senate race.
- Roger Stone, a longtime GOP political operative, friend of the president and the Proud Boys hate group, and convicted felon, now free thanks to a presidential pardon.
- Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona was one of the first congressmen to support the Stop the Steal campaign and has spoken at numerous events.
- Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas.
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a promoter of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory who represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District. This summer, Politico unearthed videos of Greene making racist and bigoted statements.
- Rep. Lauren Boebert, a fellow promoter of QAnon conspiracy theory, now representing Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.
- Scott Presler, a pro-Trump activist and leading organizer of Stop the Steal.
- CJ Pearson, a freshman at the University of Alabama who was listed as a lead plaintiff in one of Sidney Powell’s lawsuits alleging voting irregularities in Georgia. He is also a Stop the Steal organizer.
- Ed Martin, president of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, ally of Steve Bannon and a Stop the Steal organizer, whom Alexander has thanked for his “mentorship.”
- Brandon Straka, a pro-Trump activist who founded the Walk Away campaign to encourage people to leave the Democratic Party for the Republican Party.
- Joe Flynn, the brother of disgraced former national security adviser Gen. (Ret.) Michael Flynn, whom Trump recently pardoned.
- Matt Couch, a Seth Rich conspiracy theorist who is currently being sued by Rich’s family. Couch spoke at December’s “March for Trump” event where he expressed his enthusiasm for overturning the votes of 81 million people, particularly those in cities with a large Black population.
- Jim Hoft, founder of the far-right disinformation blog The Gateway Pundit. In June, Hoft called for the FBI to be disbanded after it reported white supremacist threats.
- Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion rights activist who spoke at the Republican National Convention.
- Lance Wallnau, a Trump-loving right-wing activist and regular participant of evangelical events held at the White House.
At Tuesday’s rally, the speaker lineup includes:
- Alex Jones, a radical conspiracy theorist who encouraged his viewers to harass the parents of kids who were murdered in the Sandy Hook shooting, baselessly claiming that they were paid actors. Jones and his Infowars conspiracy outlet have been a feature of Stop the Steal rallies.
- George Papadopoulos, who went to federal prison for making false statements to FBI agents about the timing of his contact with alleged Russian intermediaries in 2016. Trump granted Papadopoulos a full pardon.
- Mark Burns, a right-wing pastor who spoke at December’s gathering and once called for civil war.
- Greg Locke, a radical right-wing pastor and anti-masker.
- Jack Posobiec, a far-right activist, Trumpist dirty trickster, and One America News Network figure. Posobiec was also involved in the 2018 Stop the Steal campaign in Florida.
- Rogan O’Handley, a conservative lawyer and social media personality who runs the popular DC Draino Twitter and Instagram accounts.
- Angela Stanton-King, a QAnon conspiracy candidate who ran for Congress this year and has been promoting and retweeting pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood's inflammatory charges that Chief Justice John Roberts is part of a blackmail scheme that involves the rape and murder of children.
The Stop the Steal campaign has also organized buses to take protesters from 10 cities, ranging from Indianapolis to Boston, to Washington on Wednesday morning. The Proud Boys, whose leader was just arrested for burning a Black church's Black Lives Matter banner, will also be in attendance, and members have promised to forgo their signature black and yellow polos for black in an effort to blend in with anti-fascist activists.
