NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Jack Posobiec set off a wave of alarm after a video of his welcome speech at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference went viral. In the video, the right-wing activist and media personality said he wanted to end democracy and finish the mission of Jan. 6, installing a God-first government.
“Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely,” he said Thursday. “We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it.”
Posobiec — known for internet trolling, conspiracy theories and blustering rhetoric — said in a subsequent speech and in an interview with NBC News that his statements were largely satirical, poking fun at what he sees as a lack of democratic values from President Joe Biden’s administration.
“We are always supportive of a constitutional republic,” Posobiec said on Friday, referring to conservatives at large.
“What we’re trying to do is return it to the original system. We’re not destroying all of democracy, just their [Democrats'] democracy,” he added.
But in his speech Friday, Posobiec continued to use rhetoric evocative of a violent revolution.
"After we burn that swamp to the ground, we will establish the new American republic on its ashes, and our first order of business will be righteous retribution for those who betrayed America," he declared.
His calls for attendees to “fight,” and his support for “each and every J6-er” received standing ovations from many conference attendees, who defended the participants of the Jan. 6 insurrection in interviews with NBC News.
Posobiec has pedaled unfounded conspiracy theories about the involvement of federal agencies in fomenting the violence that occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, calling for justice for those prosecuted in relation to the incident.
The conspiracy theory and its associated movement had fans at CPAC, many of whom thought that the events of Jan. 6 were a legitimate and good-natured effort to influence the election.
Jonathan Linowes created a Jan. 6-themed pinball machine on display at CPAC that went viral on Thursday. Some people took the machine, titled “J6: Insurrection An educational documentary game,” as a joke, but for Linowes, it was a serious expression of his beliefs about Jan 6.
“I decided to make a game that actually expresses what really happened on Jan. 6,” he said in an interview Friday. “It’s very suspicious, and there was not any kind of a serious investigation of what went on.”
When asked if he attended Jan. 6, Linowes said, “I can’t say.” He also wouldn’t answer directly whether he wanted to see a repeat of that day.
"I think that we should all be exercising our right to free speech and gather," he said.
Five people died at or in the days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, including a Capitol police officer and several participants.
For some attendees, Posobiec’s calls against democracy resonated with them, playing into their belief that Jan. 6 was a just attempt at influencing processes of our democratic republic.
“Democracy is evil,” Tommy Tatum said. “Democracy is mob rule.”
Tatum, who has spoken extensively online about being at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and has recorded himself harassing Capitol police officers, was tabling at CPAC for the Jan. 6 Legal Defense Fund, which is used to pay legal fees for people facing prosecutions related to that day.
Tatum said he supported the actions of the participants of Jan 6, saying “exactly what we wanted to have happen was happening,” referencing the interference of vote-counting at the Capitol.
Suzzanne Monk, a Jan. 6 activist, runs a campaign seeking a pardon for everyone who was prosecuted in connection with the insurrection. Monk, who said she was in the area of the insurrection that day, echoed Tatum’s claims that the insurrection was supposed to be a peaceful effort to support a second term for Trump.
Monk said she doesn’t want violence, but that she worries what will happen if the 2024 election is called in Biden’s favor.
“We’ve been ignored when we bring our concerns about election fraud,” she said, “so if it happens again, I don’t know what will happen.”
