For weeks, corporate media hyped up the “Justice for J6” rally as a right-wing plot to attack the Capitol, but their predictions proved to be way off.
The scary MAGA protest which DHS, CNN and MSNBC spent weeks were hysterically warning could be another 1/6 and that (the newly massively funded) Capitol Police cited to install maximum security. https://t.co/SwyOvskE68
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 18, 2021
The protest started as a rally for Americans to peacefully contest the arrests of more than 600 people who were charged following the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. Former Trump aide Matt Braynard organized and spoke at the event where he said protesters would speak up for Capitol rioters who were “vilified because of their political viewpoints.”
Media coverage leading up to the event, however, painted it as a “right-wing rally” that caused “Renewed fears of political violence [to] grip Capitol Hill.” Headlines and articles about the event predicted that it would be a sequel to the Jan. 6 riot and full of white supremacy and violence.
Just wall-to-wall fear porn from @CNN. pic.twitter.com/ojxsP8KKFa
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) September 18, 2021
One NBC article published on Sept. 18 claimed that “As Trump fans gather for ‘Justice for J6,’ the specter of white privilege looms large.”
Other media outlets editorialized their pre-coverage to cast future attendees as violent stereotypes and planted rumors that “protestors may arrive with weapons” in readers’ heads. This prompted law enforcement officials in the capital city to erect another round of temporary fencing around the Capitol and prepare the National Guard for a conflict.
@USATODAY snuck in “where protestors may arrive with weapons” completely absent evidence, just in case some of their readers weren’t sufficiently scared or fired up. pic.twitter.com/QGhf7xze23
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) September 18, 2021
Despite reports from CNN, MSNBC, and other corrupt media outlets, which predicted that close to 700 “MAGA fans plot rally defending rioters,” only about 400 people showed up to the event, which was largely attended by the same press that manufactured buzz about it in the first place.
The Associated Press reported that government law enforcement officials easily outnumbered true protesters on Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis notified its partners last week that “some individuals involved in or opposed to the ‘Justice for J6’ rally planned for 18 September at Union Square (which encompasses the U.S. Capitol) in Washington, D.C., may seek to engage in violence but lack indications of a specific or credible plot associated with the event,” but of the four people arrested on the grounds of the event, two were taken into custody for outstanding charges and two were caught with weapons but were not violent.
Former President Donald Trump told The Federalist that the rally was a “setup” meant to hurt Republicans.
“On Saturday, that’s a setup,” Trump said. “If people don’t show up they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s a lack of spirit.’ And if people do show up they’ll be harassed.”
Dishonest pundits such as CNN’s Brian Stelter tried to downplay the corporate media’s role in hyping up the largely uneventful rally, but some called them out and scolded them for trying to dupe the public once again.
Media loves mistaking its own anticipation for public anticipation. They create it, then respond to it, and that’s how they distort our politics. https://t.co/EU3qfmOCp5
— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) September 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/foster_type/status/1439724227054157827?s=20
A legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC also tried to downplay the media’s role in the hysteria and claimed that the Jan. 6 narrative must live on.
“It’s a smart take the low turnout today doesn’t mean there is any less support for the big lie, the Jan 6 putsch or Trump himself among his base,” she tweeted.
It's a smart take the low turnout today doesn't mean there is any less support for the big lie, the Jan 6 putsch or Trump himself among his base.
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) September 18, 2021
Corporate media companies stuck on the Jan. 6 “insurrection” narrative have created hysteria over similar events before. In March, multiple outlets prophesied another attack on the Capitol, which never came to fruition. The Department of Homeland Security and FBI joined in by warning that “domestic extremists” were ramping up to “take control of the U.S. Capitol and remove democratic lawmakers on or about the 4th of March” while Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi canceled a House session, a fact she downplayed later.
