Former sheriff compares Jan 6th riot to a 'frat party' at QAnon fest -- and complains it wasn't serious enough

Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. likened the January 6 insurrection to a "frat party" today at the QAnon-inspired "For God & Country Patriot Double Down" in Las Vegas.

"Words matter," Clarke told the audience at the Ahern Hotel. "You've got the Left running around talking about this insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Ladies and gentlemen, that was not an insurrection. If we decide to pull an insurrection, you're gonna know it. There's very little you're going to be able to do about it.

"The only thing I had against what happened at the Capitol on January 6, if you're going to pull a political movement, you've got to have three elements: It has to be serious, it's got to be well-planned and it's got to be disciplined."

"What happened on January 6 was not serious." Clarke pointed to a screen with images from the insurrection and criticized a rioter with his feet on a desk: "It's not serious, it's just not."

Then he pointed to a rioter carrying a Confederate flag: "Why? I don't make a big deal over a Confederate flag. That's not me. But we don't need that. It delegitimizes what we're trying to do. Carry the United States flag through there. Carry the Gadsden flag if you want to. But we don't need this. It's not serious and it's not disciplined."

Clarke was one of numerous speakers spreading QAnon strangeness at the four-day event. The Las Vegas Review-Journal had more coverage:

"We know there was election fraud, are you kidding?" said Jason Sullivan, a social media strategist for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. "We're done trying to prove that it happened. We're about to turn it around."

Others will have to prove they provided a secure election system, he told attendees. Sullivan later led the crowd in chants of "Sheep no more!"

And there was Andre Popa, the event's emcee on Saturday, telling the crowd that government leaders are paid off to work against the public.

"One attendee said during the event that they planned to put up signs asking what really happened during 9/11, a question Popa called "beautiful," the Review-Journal reported. "Popa also raised questions about the COVID-19 vaccines, which health officials say are safe and effective.

"When they're talking about the vax, this ain't no vax," Popa said. "Because typically when you're getting the flu jab thing, it's supposed to have the flu in it so the body builds its stuff. So is the thing today in this juice? So then how can it be? Therefore, it's not. So, then the question is, what is it?"

No Trump-loving gathering would be complete without merch.

"On the second floor of the event area, Trump hats and shirts were for sale at a merchandise stand with a "Trump won" flag draped over the front," the paper reported. "Flags hanging over a railing that were visible from the ground floor said 'Trump is still my president' and 'Stop the steal.'"