Trump supporters to hold ‘peaceful’ rally at Florida Capitol demanding release of 6 January rioters

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Pro-Trump supporters have organised a rally in Florida this weekend at the state’s Capitol building, calling for the release of “political prisoners” who have been arrested in connection with the 6 January Capitol riots.

The “free our patriots” rally has been organised by a Republican candidate challenging Marco Rubio for Senate and is billed as a “peaceful demonstration” against the “corrupt federal government”.

According to a press release, protesters are planning to gather on 10 July at 1pm at the Florida Capitol Building in Tallahassee.

Demonstrators will be “demanding the release of all the patriots being held as political prisoners by the corrupt federal government in relation to 6 January”.

On 6 January, pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol in Washington in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election result following a Save America rally hosted by former President Donald Trump.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested 500 people in connection to the riots, with attendees charged on a variety of counts including vandalisation, obstruction of proceedings and assault of police officers.

The sunshine state has seen a disproportionate amount of residents arrested in connection to the day, being tied with Texas for the most arrests following the riots at 47 individuals, a USA Today database showed.

More than 40 per cent of the members of right-wing militia group the Oath Keepers and a quarter of the Proud Boys arrested over the riots are also from Florida, the database also revealed.

The “free our patriots” release, which refers to Mr Trump as the “legitimate president”, says attendees will be campaigning for the exoneration of “political prisoners” arrested in connection with the 6 January.

Five people died following the violence at the Capitol, including one Capitol police officer. Violent footage released by the FBI has revealed the brutal assaults on officers by some Trump supporters.

The release emphasised that the event will be a “peaceful demonstration” to petition “our great governor Ron DeSantis to demand the immediate release of the incarcerated patriots”.

“We are sure that once Gov DeSantis takes the lead, other patriots elected officials throughout the country will make the same push and then Washington will have no choice but to bend,” the release says.

The former president has baselessly maintained that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him without evidence and the “free our patriots” release pushed similar inaccurate sentiments.

The demonstration is being organised by the team of Luis Miguel for Senate, a candidate challenging Marco Rubio in the GOP primary for the 2022 race.

“Folks, the patriots who have been hunted down by the corrupt, communist FBI are suffering. Many of them are veterans who fought for this nation,” Mr Miguel said in a post on Twitter.

He added: “Let’s do our part to ensure they’re liberated. We can’t allow this in America. Be there at the Florida Capitol 10 July.”

The rally comes not long after Mr Trump held a rally in the state on Saturday during which he reiterated false voter fraud claims and suggested Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 presidential election.

The former president also said on Wednesday that he thinks those arrested in connection to the riots are being “treated unfairly” during an announcement that he will sue Big Tech, including Twitter and Facebook, for banning him from their platforms for “inciting violence” amid the riots.