Trump claims Capitol riot suspects are being ‘persecuted so unfairly’ ahead of DC rally commemorating mob

Donald Trump has offered his public support to those accused of joining the 6 January riot at the US Capitol which killed five people, claiming that suspects are “being persecuted so unfairly,” just days before a “Justice for J6” rally in Washington is set to commemorate the insurrection.

“Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election,” the former president wrote in a statement on Thursday. “In addition to everything else, it has proven conclusively that we are a two-tiered system of justice.”On Saturday, former Trump campaign operative Matt Braynard plans to host a “Justice for J6” rally with his organisation Look Ahead America. He has said the demonstration will be peaceful, and is meant to highlight what he argues is overzealous prosecution of the Capitol demonstrators, who ranged from peaceful protestors to those violently attacking police.

“These people’s faces are up on billboards,” he told The New York Times on Wednesday. “They’re losing their jobs. They’re losing their homes. They’re spending all their savings on attorneys. They’re going bankrupt for doing what on any other day, for any other cause would have gotten you a $50 fine and a slap on the wrist.”