Democrats and their friends in media often refer to the Jan. 6th 2021 events as an insurrection. It’s a loaded word meant to imply that protesters were mounting an organized rebellion against the U.S. government.
That description might fit the left’s narrative of what happened on that day in Washington, but it’s a far stretch from the truth, according to Julie Kelly, author of a new book, “January 6: How Democrats Used the Capitol Protest to Launch a War on Terror Against the Political Right.”
Kelly, who is also a contributor to American Greatness, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to reveal what she’s uncovered in her new book. You can watch the complete interview, listen to the podcast or read a lightly edited transcript.
Rob Bluey: Let’s start from the moment that this happened at the U.S. Capitol. In interviews and the book you describe how you were immediately skeptical or suspicious of the media narrative being created on that day. What were the red flags in your mind?
Julie KellyFirst of all, it was out of character for any Trump rally. How many rallies did he have, even large ones, that took place in November or December late in 2020? None of them were violent. I mean, people just weren’t behaving that way. It just seemed so outlandish, and I think that it raised some red flags.
It was also instantly branded as an insurrection. The word was planted and seeded very early in the day. It just kept rolling. It was referred to by lawmakers as an insurrection even though it was still going on. Joe Biden gave his speech at like 4 o’clock that day, he called it an insurrection. George W. Bush called this an insurrection. So, where did the term originate?
To me, it sounded almost like collusion. It was a Fusion GPS-type orchestrated PR campaign, campaign, and then something a little more sinister behind closed doors. I mean, who was responsible for this? How did it happen? So that’s some of the things I detail in my book.
Bluey: I’m glad you brought up the point about the word insurrection. Please explain why this was not an act of insurrection. And then I want to go a little bit deeper and ask about some of the things we see now playing out in our politics today, including in some congressional races where they’re trying to use that same term to get some members of Congress thrown off the ballot.
Kelly: That’s exactly right and I think that that should raise red flags in people’s heads. Is this an organic uprising that was incited by? [Donald]Trump and the Democrats were simply weaponizing it, not only through government agencies, but also politically. Or was this orchestrated, mainly orchestrated and executed by Trump’s political enemies? Of course, he has a lot of them to do exactly what they’re doing right now.
So yes, they’re targeting these people as insurrectionists. How do you overthrow a government that has no weapons and no organized groups? The officer who shot and killed Ashlibabbitt was the only one who owned a firearm or used it on that day. These ragtag militia groups were not equipped with weapons, as well.
The idea that this was an insurrection to overthrow the government that day just makes no sense, but it’s a term that the public could grasp super easily—politicians could, Joe Biden, everyone in charge. Now, of course, no one’s been charged with insurrection, but it doesn’t matter. It’s just law fear and it’s propaganda.
Bluey: It seems that they are politicizing it to their advantage in their elected offices and following an agenda they want to follow.
Now, the interviews you did reveal what you just said. This was a very spontaneous event. It started at the opposite end of the National Mall, near the White House, and continued to the U.S. Capitol. What were the most surprising details you wanted to share with our listeners as you conducted these interviews and learned more about that day?
Kelly: Rob, the original idea that [House Speaker]Nancy Pelosi [D.C. Mayor]Muriel Bowser deliberately made the Capitol insecure on that day.
I’ve spoken with a D.C. National Guardsman. They were present at the Armory at six o’clock in the morning that day. They were waiting there, about 1,200 of them, and they were not activated and deployed until 4 o’clock that day. Now, why?
So why did they leave it insecure? Two things happened at once right before the session began. One, the alleged discovery of the pipe bombs—who, by the way, we still don’t know who the pipe bomber is. The second breach, the grounds, was the first. This occurred when Ray Epps (famous Ray Epps) whispered to him and he knocked these bike racks down and ran up.
This happened approximately 10 minutes before the joint session began. These are all interesting timelines.
Now, the people who were at Trump’s speech were still there. Trump’s speech didn’t end until 1:15. They had already caused a lot the chaos we saw by the time they reached the Capitol. So people who were coming from Trump’s speech really didn’t know what was going on.
Rob, I’ve said it repeatedly: The people who wanted the proceedings to be halted that day weren’t Republicans; they were Democrats. They didn’t want all evidence of fraud being shown, which would have taken two hours per state.
Sens. worked with Republican House Members to contest those results, request a 10-day auditor’s report and have two hours discussion. Democrats opposed this. The Democrats wanted the proceedings to be halted, not the Republicans. They got what they wanted.
Bluey: Yeah. Bluey: Yes. Thank you for that historical fact and the context. Let’s go back to that time period. Now, here we are, and you tell us about this in your book. Four days after this highly contentious electoral process in which there were millions upon millions of absentee and mail-in ballots, the news media declared Joe Biden winner. I believe it was a Saturday—
Kelly: Right.
Bluey: … afternoon when that happened. And right away, Trump’s campaign started to raise concerns about some irregularities. They were doing it before the announcement was made. However, in the weeks that followed, there were a few members of Congress, House Members, and senators who wanted this 10-day audit. Why was it so important for Democrats to plough through and carry out this audit, as you stated on Jan. 6
Kelly: Because they didn’t want any evidence of voter fraud to be revealed. And that’s why the media immediately announced Joe Biden the winner. You’re right, it was that Saturday, I think the 7th or 8th of November. Then they branded any inquiries about what happened in the election “The Big Lie,” which we still hear to this day.
Look at that! Time magazine articleThat was in February 2021. They admitted, not just as you’re saying, all the malfeasants with the mail-in ballots and people who were curing ballots when they shouldn’t have been, but just this whole orchestrated effort with Big Tech, national news media, business interests, everyone collaborating to take down Trump.
Now, what’s interesting is, they war-gamed out this whole thing under something called the Transition Integrity Project. It’s all covered in my book. Insurrection was used four times in their plan. They knew that this was their excuse for Trump. He was going call in the military. He was going to start the insurrection.
They had all of this planned. And so, that’s how they really, effectively, shut down any congressional investigation into voter fraud. It was then shut down completely on Jan. 6.
Bluey: And of course, during this period of time, the American people, Trump supporters, or even maybe not Trump supporters, who were just upset about the way things were proceeding, decided to start gathering, as you said, at these rallies, “Stop the Steal” rallies. One of these rallies took place on Jan. 6. Let’s get to that day, and some of the stories you heard from people who visited Washington, D.C., not knowing what would happen at the U.S. Capitol. Why were they there?
Kelly: That’s a great question. They were there, I believe, most of them believed something was going to happen in Congress that morning, that they were going pass the 10-day audit that senators wanted. Some believed it, I think. [then-Vice President]Mike Pence would actually be able do something. That, of course, he wasn’t going to do. And then said at 1 o’clock that day he was not going to do, which is fine.
They were there, but I think some of them knew that nothing was going ahead. This was kind of a way to see Donald Trump, listen to his speech, sort of say “thank you,” be with like-minded Americans, protest what they believed was a rigged election.
It was, according to many, a great event. [it]. There were hundreds of thousands of people, great spirit, and comradery. People were singing, carrying flags, and then they went up to the Capitol. It was over soon after that.
Bluey, I’d like to ask you about that. Many media outlets incorrectly reported many of the details that happened on Jan. 6, including the circumstances of Officer Brian Sicknick’s death, which The New York Times and others had to famously correct their errors. What do you think were the most outrageous falsehoods made by the media in the aftermath?
Kelly:So, the story of Officer Sicknick must be at top of the list. Because of what happened to Rob, it was four Trump supporters who died that day. Ashli Babbitt was killed by a policeman. Rosanne Boyland, likely due to the actions of two police officers that day, probably died.
Because law enforcement officers and officials were throwing flash bangs at the crowd, dosing them with tear gas and using rubber bullets against protesters. These are people who are outside. They’re not even near the building. They started attacking people around 1:15, 1:30. That led to many of these confrontations as you can see in cherry-picked video.
The U.S. Capitol Police made the announcement that Officer Brian Sicknick had died in the line of duty on Jan. 7. They also said that he was being killed by protesters. Jan. 8th, the New York Times published a report that was based on anonymous law enforcement officials and stated that Brian Sicknick had been bludgeoned by Trump supporters with a fire extinguisher.
This story now goes viral. It is picked up by every major news agency. It is even picked up by Democrat politicians. It was even picked up by some conservative Republican outlets. There was no question about whether or not this was true.
This sparked all kinds of outrage and led to a lot more optics, such as his march through the Capitol. He was laid to rest. His remains were placed in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Nancy Pelosi and By were there to pay tribute to him. [Sen.]Chuck Schumer. His remains were transported to Arlington National Cemetery. The whole idea was to prove that Trump supporters had murdered a police officer.
Well, what happens after all that’s over? The New York Times quietly retracts their story, says, “We have no evidence that he was killed by anyone with a fire extinguisher.” But it was too late because they had gone for five weeks and had all the optics that they needed. And it even made it into the House Democrats’ impeachment memo, that New York Times citation. And it’s still in there.
One of my biggest questions is: If Jan. 6 was so terrible, why did they lie about it? That’s just one of the big lies that they told.
The D.C. coroner, however, comes out in April and reports that Brian Sicknick died at 42 from natural causes. It was a very untimely, unfortunate, death but nothing to do the Jan. 6 events.
Bluey: Bluey, thank you for clarifying and exposing this. As you and I both know, when something is out there for as long as that was, the impression is already made in so many people’s minds. And so they’re not going to see the retraction or the correction.
Kelly: Nope.
Bluey: Let’s talk about the other tragic death that happened that day, and that’s Ashli Babbitt. You mentioned her name. There was a lot of controversy about that. She was not armed when she was killed. What would you like our listeners to learn about her death?
Kelly: It was so unnecessary that they covered up her name and the name of the officer who shot and killed the woman. They kept it a secret for months, even including the news media.
Now, Rob, think about this. In any other situation, especially in a race—I mean, you had a black police officer shoot a white woman. Race had nothing you with it, but that’s not how the media works. So in any other situation, his name would’ve been released, they would’ve scoured his social media, known where he worked before, talked to his relatives. None of that happened. His identity was kept secret for many months. He was then hailed as a hero.
In the meantime, she was vilified by the media as a QAnon fan, which made it seem like she kind of deserved what happened. A veteran, five-foot-two, with a long history of service overseas, was trying to climb through windows.
Now, it looks like new video that came out is that she was trying to stop the man who’s smashing the window. There’s some video that shows her punching him in the face to get him to stop. And there’s speculation that she was trying to get through that window because of the violence that was happening around her and trying to escape.
Bluey: Yeah. Watching Tucker Carlson’s special and hearing from her mother and husband is just so sad and particularly how they treated her body after she had been shot as well.
Kelly: Right. And that’s why they want to conceal a lot of this video, Rob, which is the 14,000 hours of surveillance video that they’re keeping under wraps. They don’t want the public to see how her body was handled by police officers, basically dragging her down these stairs face up, just so disrespectfully.
And so just the way she’s been treated in the media. And millions of Americans who feel the same way, that she deserved what was coming to her, and they think it’s unfortunate that more people weren’t shot that day.
Rosanne Boyland, another woman who was killed that day, is Rosanne Boyland. They also mishandled the body. She was dragged through the tunnel by police officers who had contributed to her death. She was then hidden in the rotunda. [Rep.] Steny Hoyer’s office by two Capitol Police officers until paramedics arrived and declared her dead. So there’s a lot still to uncover. Although the Jan. 6 committee is not interested in this, I believe some of the evidence will be revealed in these trials.
Bluey: Yes. Well, certainly. We offer our prayers for them and their families.
You’ve talked about the police and you say, you write in the book that they were responsible for a lot of the violence that took place through some of their actions, which you have already mentioned in the interview. What did you learn about police officers and the steps they took to make certain people behave the way that they did?
Kelly: I was shocked. I remember the first man, he’s still in the D.C. jail, he sent me a video that he had taken that showed police throwing flash bangs into the crowd. I was shocked. This was four months after I started reporting on it. I had never seen anything similar.
So you see him saying, “Look at this, they’re throwing flash bangs into the crowd. They’re exploding in people’s faces.” And then they were throwing something called sting balls, which, when it hits the ground, deploys these rubber bullets. These rubber bullets are causing people to bleed.
And I thought, “Well, why were they doing this?” These people were basically outside on the grounds. They were carrying flags and singing. They were singing and had flags. Then D.C. Police and Capitol Police attacked them. Again, I think that’s why there were not National Guardsmen there, because if you had had the thousand or so National Guardsmen, they would say, “Well, you can’t do this to people. Why are you provoking them?”
So that’s why you see the crowd turn. They were supportive, Back The Blue, Trump, whatever. Then they start shouting at police officers. They were sometimes punching protesters and spraying them in the face. Now, these aren’t even people trying to get into the building.
This is why I wrote in my book that Capitol Police and D.C. Metro police were the provocateurs on that day. That is what I believe their marching orders were. They wanted to get the crowd excited so that you could see all of the brawls we saw. This is why they want the video to remain sealed.
Bluey: Sure. And naturally, if you put yourself, you or I put ourselves in that position, and we feel that we are being attacked—I mean, I can only imagine the natural human reaction to a situation like that.
Kelly: Right.
Bluey: You also mention that the FBI had informants at Capitol that day. This is an area where we feel like we are still missing a lot. What can you tell us today about what we’ve learned so far?
Kelly: We’ve learned that we need to learn a lot more.
Bluey: OK.
Kelly: Right? So we already know that informants were run into two of the militia groups, because it’s been confirmed in court filings and also The New York Times.
We know that the FBI will not answer any questions about, say—[Attorney General]Merrick Garland refused a response [Rep.] Tom Massie’s question about who Ray Epps was, said he didn’t know, which he probably does not know. Merrick Garland is like Robert Mueller. He’s not running that department. Lisa Monaco, a former Obama top-ranking official, is the deputy.
But also it was interesting, Jill Sanborn, who’s a top FBI official, when she was asked by [the] Senate Judiciary [Committee], “Were there any FBI informants or agents who either incited or engaged in violent behavior that day?”, she twice refused to answer that question.
We need to know more about the FBI agents involved in this infiltration, not only that day, but for months prior.
Why were so many people photographed with Proud Boys but only 20 of them arrested? Who were the remaining men who were in that group during the initial breach? We still don’t know.
Knowing how the FBI works, we can see that the Whitmer kidnapping case was fabricated solely by the FBI. The FBI then promoted the Whitmer FBI field office director to the D.C. FBI office just before Jan. 6. So there’s no coincidences when it comes to the FBI, and so we need to answer.
So, hopefully, Republicans will confront the House if they win it. [FBI Director]Christopher Wray is a man of many questions. He demands answers because the American people are interested in knowing. The FBI we know has been completely armed. It’s a law enforcement agency. It’s like Gestapo, basically, for the Democratic Party. All the details about what they did during Jan. 6 and before are due to us.
Bluey: And the American people aren’t going to get it from the Jan. 6 committee, Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked group that’s allegedly looking into to the events of that day.
Let’s fast forward. Also, you mention the poor conditions in jail where some, believe or not, are still being held a year later. Who are the political prisoners who are still in jail and what are the types of charges that they’re facing?
Kelly: That’s such a good question. We have a Washington, D.C. political prison. There are currently three dozen men there. This D.C. prison opened one year ago this Wednesday. But a lot of men were incarcerated in other jails before they got to D.C., so over a year they’ve been behind bars.
While most of them are facing some form of assaulting, attacking or interfering law enforcement, there are also nonviolent offenders. But, [the Justice Department] continues to ask for their continued, indefinite incarceration, because some of them don’t even have trial dates yet.
Rob and the others who had them have been pushed into the middle of the year or the end of the year, based COVID. This is based on some DOJ chicanery, which keeps adding superseding Indictments, thus causing delays for months.
One man could be the one who will spend 18 months in prison before his trial starts at May’s end. He faces no violent charges, he entered peacefully and did nothing wrong. He’s been dubbed a white supremacist. He’ll be in jail for 18 months. And you know what’s really upsetting about that case is the man who’s kept him behind bars is a Trump-appointed D.C. District Court judge, Trevor McFadden.
Bluey: Wow.
Kelly: Yes. So, it’s all the judges.
Bluey: Yeah, yeah. Bluey: Yeah, yeah.
Kelly: That’s correct.
Bluey: Yeah.
Kelly: We were just charged with seditious conspiracies. I guess that’s supposed to be close enough. Think about it, out of 730 defendants. Now, consider this: 730 people were detained by the FBI Jan. 6; three times the number of those who were detained by the FBI in 2020 riots that lasted months. These men will be in prison. Their trials are being held back and they are considered political prisoners. They are being kept there because of their involvement in Jan. 6, and that’s the only reason why.
Bluey: Paint a picture for our listeners of what it’s like … you use the word deplorable in the book, what are the conditions like that they’re currently facing in that jail?
Kelly: They were kept in isolation for several months in D.C. jail. Based on COVID.
They were separated from the general population, saying it was for their own protection because most of the people in the D.C. jail are convicted criminals and they wouldn’t be fans of Trump supporters, neither are the guards. There have been several reports of physical assaults, strip searches that required one man to be transferred to another jail, and racial slurs.
The only newspaper that’s distributed there is the Nation of Islam newspaper. They are withholding discovery evidence that’s sent to the jail so they can’t even see their evidence against them. If they’re not vaccinated, they can’t meet in person with their defense attorney, which of course, constitutional violation.
But I think it’s really the solitary confinement conditions, they’re back to 22 hours a day in their cell. Again, the premise is COVID, but they’re really just being tortured.
And again, not convicted of any crime … most of them have no criminal records. Some are veterans. So there’s no reason for them to not be released back home awaiting trials that the DOJ and judges keep delaying. They are not a danger to the community. They’re not a flight risk. And so they’re just keeping them there to torture them.
Bluey: Thank you for helping to expose and reveal to not only our listeners, but to the world about what those conditions are, because if it weren’t for you and a few others, I don’t think we would truly know.
And you’ve spent so much of the past year dedicating your life to getting the truth about Jan. 6 to a bigger audience, and making sure that where others in the media or the Democrats in Congress have failed or ignore the opportunity to do so, you’re stepping in and filling that void. We are grateful for that.
What would you say if you were asked to choose one or two of the most important issues you want to solve? What would they be?
Kelly: The No. 1 issue would definitely be the government’s involvement. What did the FBI and other agencies do to provoke that day?
And also, I would want to get to the bottom of what these prosecutors are doing, what they’re showing the grand jury. We already know that they’ve misled the grand jury on two of the most prevalent misdemeanor charges. So I really want to expose everything that’s happening at DOJ with these prosecutions, their correspondence with other political actors, but most importantly, I think what happened with the FBI.
And I do, before I forget, want to give a shoutout to—there was no structure in place either, Rob, to help any of these defendants. And so a woman of one of the detainees actually started what’s called the Patriot Freedom Project, and it’s patriotfreedomproject.com. She was the one who raised the money. Dinesh D’Souza contributed $100,000 to it, which really got it started, because no lawyers would step up and help these people.
I think the narrative is changing. We are starting to see some lawyers and people step up for them. But there was a huge gap.
Bluey: You’re dedicating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of your bookTo that. We’ll make sure to link to it in the transcript and in the show notes.
Kelly: Thanks.
Bluey: Looking back at a year and all the work that still needs doing, why aren’t you still committed to this? I mean, I imagine you’ve come under personal attack from those on the left for seeking the truth. What drives you to keep going? And why should the American people still seek these answers?
Kelly: That’s such a good question. This is wrong and America should not allow it to happen. You know, Rob, I talked to the wife of a detainee the other night and she’s like, “I never thought this would be happening in America.”
This should not be happening. The Democrats shouldn’t be using the weapons to war against American citizens. They are. And they’re escalating it. They’re doing it with the J6 committee, but they’re certainly doing it with this DOJ and FBI. It’s just wrong. And if we are going to keep our country protected from the enemies in our own country, which is the left and the Democratic Party, then we need to expose what they’re doing.
So I think I keep doing it because it’s right for the country, but also on behalf of all of these people whose lives are seriously being destroyed and really had no one to speak up for them. So that’s why.
Bluey: Julie, thank you. Thank you for what you’re doing. Thank you for the book. Again, it’s called “January 6: How Democrats Used the Capitol Protest to Launch a War on Terror Against the Political Right.” Thank you for visiting with The Daily Signal today.
Kelly: Thank you so much for having us, I really appreciate it.
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