One week after former president Donald Trump visited Florida and questioned why so many accused Capitol rioters are still in jail, his supporters in the Sunshine State will gather on Saturday to call for the release of "political prisoners" charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Florida has more people charged in the insurrection than any other state, including the most defendants connected to right-wing groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Saturday's "Free Our Patriots Rally in Tally" outside the state Capitol will call on Republican Gov. Ron Desantis "to demand immediate release of the incarcerated patriots and to use all the power and leverage at his disposal to make this happen."
"We are sure that once Gov. DeSantis takes the lead, other patriots elected officials throughout the country will make the same push and then Washington will have no choice but to bend," according to a news release promoting the rally.The event is being organized in part by Luis Miguel, a far-right candidate who is challenging Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in the GOP primary.
"Folks, The patriots who have been hunted down by the corrupt, communist FBI are suffering," Miguel wrote on Twitter. "Many of them are veterans who fought for this nation. Let's do our part to ensure they're liberated. We can't allow this in America. Be there at the Florida Capitol July 10."
Another organizer of the rally is Angel Harrelson, the wife of former Army Sgt. Kenneth Troy Harrelson, an admitted member of the Oath Keepers who remains behind bars after being charged in the insurrection.
Angel Harrelson told a YouTube radio program this week that among other things, she plans to play a recording of her husband and other alleged insurrectionists singing the national anthem over the phone from jail.
"We want to have our voice heard and make sure that the government hears us," Harrelson said. "The truth will come out, and they need to free our patriots. They need to let them go, and dismiss the cases and exonerate them of all the charges."
Also attending the rally will be Christine Quinn, a Republican congressional candidate from Tampa. "Join me to support our Patriots that have been unlawfully arrested and detained without due cause," Quinn wrote on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Florida Democratic Congressman Charlie Christ, who is running for governor in 2022, has called for DeSantis "to publicly reject the conspiracy theory that Trump actually won the election, and to investigate Florida's connection to the hate groups involved with Jan. 6," Creative Loafing reports.
"If Governor DeSantis can't admit the truth about something as simple as who the duly elected President is, is there anything he won't mislead the public about?" Crist said. "Just as troublingly, his silence is empowering the hate groups that fueled the insurrection of January 6th. Floridians deserve better."
