COLUMBUS, OH (WCMH) — U.S. Capitol Police are preparing for a far-right rally planned forward Saturday to protest the ongoing criminal cases of those involved in the insurrection.
It’s been more than eight months since January 6, and there are still several different narratives of what happened on that day.
“You can have disagreements but there’s no reason to incite any violence, so that’s a concern,” said Rep. Tim Ryan, (D) U.S. Senate Candidate.
Congressman Ryan has been a strong supporter of the January 6 Commission, allowing Congress to investigate the day. U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Vance questions if it was an insurrection, and says at this point it’s a criminal matter.
“I think it’s a little bit weird that we focus so much on what happened January 6. Yes it was bad, yes people who were violent should face consequences, but I also think we have to keep a little perspective about what happened and some of the other problems that exist in our country,” said Vance, (R) U.S. Senate Candidate.
Josh Mandel, a Republican in the Senate Race did not respond to a request for an interview or statement but in a tweet on Sept. 9, called those being charged “political prisoners.”
“We need leaders who are going to be honest, to have folks like Josh Mandel who are trying to feed into this nonsense is unacceptable and we have to come together and be real about what occurred,” said Morgan Harper, (D) U.S. Senate Candidate.
This week in a statement former President Donald Trump said “Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the rigged presidential election.”
“We’re so divided in the country now that we literally have a major political party that’s not grounded in the facts grounded in reality and I find that deeply troubling,” said Ryan.
In a statement to NBC4, Jane Timken a Republican Senate Candidate said violence is not acceptable and “We cannot let the Left use January 6 as a blanket excuse to declare war on conservatives and erode our civil liberties or pass election laws aimed at putting Democrats in power permanently.”
On Saturday Capitol Police are preparing for another protest. In a news conference Friday, they say there have been threats of violence but they are preparing for everything.
“Our mission tomorrow is our mission everyday and that is to protect everyone’s rights to free speech and allow them to lawfully demonstrate,” said Chief Tom Manger, United States Capitol Police.
