'Thank you, Mr Trump': Supporters of jailed Capitol rioters gather outside prison to await their release
Ben Pollock, whose son and daughter were both jailed for their roles in the disorder, was among those who last night staged a vigil outside the Washington DC correctional facility.
Tuesday 21 January 2025 11:10, UK
They've been there every night for nearly four years.
Supporters of 6 January prisoners inside the Washington DC correctional facility stage a vigil around the 9 o'clock hour, at which time they are joined in a phone call by the rioters jailed inside, for a rendition of the national anthem.
Last night might have been, well, the last night. To the crowd outside, one prisoner declared: "Thank you, Mr Trump!"
It felt like a party gathering in the bitter cold of a Washington night, the crowd shuffling to music and warmed by expectation.
They had gathered to witness the first "Jan6ers" coming out.
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At one point there was a surge towards the front door as supporters and media ran forward upon a false "freedom" sighting.
The police pulled in reinforcements on standby and formed a double line across the street.
Amongst the crowd was Ben Pollock, from Florida. His son and daughter, Jonathan and Olivia, were jailed for 6 January offences.
Ben had travelled in anticipation of seeing them freed.
His son Jonathan spoke to him from inside the jail and said: "Oh man, I know we're going home… we've got our stuff, bags… and we just cannot wait to get out there and see y'all in person."
Ben told me: "I'm so proud of these kids and today is victory day. It's going to be a renaissance for the country and just freedom."
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It is an unshakeable belief in what's right and a grievance over perceived injustice around the events of 6 January.
It is countered, of course, by condemnation of rioters who rampaged through the Capitol building.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who had to run and hide from the rioters, said in a statement: "The president's actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution.
"It is shameful that the president has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power."
It was confrontation on day one of the Trump presidency that saw a to-do list get done.
He had it in a black book - Donald Trump's template for change in America.
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The book of executive orders couldn't wait for the Resolute desk inside the White House - inside Washington's Capital Arena, this was politics as performance art from a man who knows the theatre of the presidency.
He knows its value, too.
The instructions, signed Donald Trump, amount to promises delivered and he wouldn't want to minimise the audience for that. There is momentum in the moment - why minimise it?
The raft of executive orders signals abrupt change on a large scale - it will change the way America does politics and the way America does America.