Trump has made "Justice for All" a de facto anthem of his campaign — a mix of his own voice reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and a rendition of the national anthem sung by the so-called "J6 Prison Choir," a group of defendants from the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol who sing together regularly in the Washington D.C. jail. It's part of Trump's effort to legitimize the cause of the defendants, who have alleged they are political prisoners.
The Washington Post has now revealed more about the identities of some of the J6 Prison Choir — and why they were really locked up.
"Using physical characteristics and interviews with family members, supporters and attorneys, The Washington Post identified five of the roughly 15 men who are featured in the video," reported Isaac Arnsdorf, Meg Kelly, Rachel Weiner, and Tom Jackman. The five are William Chrestman, Shane Jenkins, Julian Khater, Jonathan Mellis, and Ryan Nichols — all of whom are accused of serious acts of violence.
Chrestman is accused of leading a group of Proud Boys into the Capitol, threatening police, and obstructing officers from closing gates using the handle of an ax. Jenkins has been convicted of throwing heavy objects at police and smashing a window in the Capitol. Khater pleaded guilty to using a chemical spray on Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of stroke the next day — determined to be "natural causes" but aggravated by the attack. Mellis is set to plead guilty this week to beating police officers with a stick in one of the Capitol tunnels. And Nichols is also accused of using a chemical spray on police.
None of the rest of the choir have been identified as of now.
"The finished track premiered on March 3, and it quickly hit No. 1 in the Apple iTunes music store and made the Billboard chart. Trump immediately began promoting the song on social media, leading up to playing it at his March rally. 'It was very much an honor,' Trump told reporters on his plane after the rally, explaining that playing the song there had been his idea. 'Those people were treated very badly. ... I think it’s a disgrace,'" said the report. "Kenneth Sicknick, the brother of the deceased officer, told The Post he was 'disgusted' by Trump’s glorification of the prisoners. 'The rallying cry is that no police officer died on Jan. 6, and they leave out inconvenient things like my brother’s first stroke happened on Jan. 6, and he was put on life support and died the following day,' he said. 'And they do that over and over and over again.'"
More than 1,000 people have been charged or convicted in the January 6 attack. However, most — who only face misdemeanor charges like unlawful picketing and trespassing — were granted release. Only the small handful accused of more serious crimes like assaulting police have been locked up without release, but they have become a rallying cry for Trump-supporting lawmakers.