Trump to host awards gala honoring "incredible courage and sacrifice" of Jan. 6 defendants

The gala will take place in September at Trump's country club in New Jersey, with Rudy Giuliani scheduled to speak

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published August 22, 2024 6:08PM (EDT)

Republican Presidential candidate, former U.S. president, Donald Trump, takes the stage to offer remarks to a crowd during an event on August 21, 2024 in Asheboro, North Carolina at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame.  (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Republican Presidential candidate, former U.S. president, Donald Trump, takes the stage to offer remarks to a crowd during an event on August 21, 2024 in Asheboro, North Carolina at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Just one day after lengthy footage of violent insurrectionists storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was shown to attendees and remote viewers of the Democratic National Convention, word has begun to circulate that former president Donald Trump will be hosting a gala event in their honor in September at his Bedminster, New Jersey country club.

A flyer for the "J6 Awards Gala" reported on by MTN lists Rudy Giuliani as a guest speaker for the event where "attendees will have a chance to win a plaque commemorating the MAGA community's purchase of numerous copies of Trump's 'Justice for All' song," with the event description reading: "We gather to pay tribute...to all J6 defendants who have shown incredible courage and sacrifice."

On Wednesday, Sergeant Aquilino Gonell — a retired United States Capitol Police Officer — spoke at the DNC about the events of Jan. 6, which took a toll on him personally, both emotionally as well as physically, saying he "nearly died" that day after being beaten by rioters wielding a pole attached to an American flag.

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"I had seen violence while serving in Iraq, but nothing, nothing prepared me for Jan. 6." Gonell said.

Watch the Capitol riot footage shown at the DNC here:

Per Huffington Post, a video promoting the J6 Awards Gala features Trump praising the Capitol riot defendants, saying, “They ought to release the J6 hostages. They’ve suffered enough. I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages."

Tickets for the event start at $1,500 and are intended to "help cover costs and support the defendants and their families, with exclusive benefits and recognition at the gala."


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