In May, when police interrupted the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir performance of the U.S. National Anthem inside the U.S. Capitol, a viral video of the singing shut-down thrust the small group from Greenville, S.C., into an unexpected limelight.
It also prompted new performance opportunities for the children — including singing at a recent campaign rally for former President Donald Trump.
Now, the kids are slated to reprise in Washington, D.C., next month with an all-expenses-paid trip to the Capitol, sponsored by South Carolina’s congressional delegation, Raw Story has learned from David Rasbach, director of the Rushingbrook Children's Choir.
The choir is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22 — days before the federal government could itself shut down unless lawmakers on Capitol Hill strike an elusive funding deal.
“It's been crazy, that's for sure,” Rasbach said. “Millions have seen us, and that's very unusual. We're not used to that kind of attention.”
The choir used to perform three or four times per year for audiences of 200 to 300 people, he said.
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The choir is invited back to “sing without interruption” and members of the South Carolina delegation will be paying for the group’s bus ride, accommodations and meals on its own — not out of “tax money,” Rasbach said.
“I'm very satisfied that there’s been so much support for us for what happened,” Rasbach said. “I’m very pleased with the South Carolina delegation who very graciously invited us back at their expense to finish our song. I think that’s very kind of them.”
The viral video of the children’s rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” being cut short was prompted by a congressional staffer, directed by U.S. Capitol police, asking Rasbach to stop the performance because “demonstrations” were not allowed in the building, Rasbach said.
Rasbach said the group of 61 children and family members received permission months ahead of time from three congressional offices — Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.) and House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — to perform and had been taken on a guided tour by congressional staffers that ended in the National Statuary Hall.
The Capitol Police later called the situation a “miscommunication” because they were not aware that the speaker’s office approved the performance, WYFF, a Greenville, S.C., NBC affiliate reported. But Rasbach said there was no miscommunication, and the group had the appropriate permits.
The Capitol Police website lists that marches, musical performances, demonstrations, foot races and commercial filming and photography require permits.
“I was told I was going to receive an apology. I never did,” Rasbach said. “What I saw was what the Capitol Police statement was and half of it was not true, so I’m not pleased at all with the Capitol Police.”
Wilson, Timmons and representatives for the Capitol Police did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment at the time of publication.
The Rushingbrook Children's Choir poses in the National Statuary Hall where they performed the National Anthem in May. A video of their performance being cut short went viral. Photo courtesy of David Rasbach
Music, politicized?
Rasbach said he and his choir have never intended to make a political statement with their singing.
“This shouldn't be a political thing at all. It shouldn't be left versus right. I don't think we should make children a political football,” Rasbach said. “We didn't plan to do this. All we planned to do was innocently come up and sing and leave. We had no purpose other than to have our kids have a good experience.”
Rasbach continued, “It would be really encouraging to me if I saw our country come together on something like this and just say ‘yeah, we ought to be able to sing the national anthem,’ and just leave it at that, rather than making a political football.”
But the video of the choir’s silencing set off pitched reactions from politicians across the country, with many of the nation’s most notable and vocal Republicans taking up the choir’s cause.
“Just learned kids were interrupted while singing our National Anthem at the Capitol. Unacceptable,” McCarthy tweeted.
“Rushingbrook Children's Choir were singing the National Anthem in the Capitol and were stopped by Capitol police. They were told that ‘certain Capitol police said it might offend someone/cause issues,’” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Twitter. “The National Anthem sung by children is not offensive, it’s needed more.”
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Even while facing a Department of Justice 13-count indictment, including charges of fraud and money laundering, Rep. George Santos (R-NY) tweeted, “If this really happened, I want to ask the Capitol Police why are children expressing their First Amendment rights, especially while singing our country's national anthem, is offensive? My office will be looking into this.”
Shortly after the incident, Wilson along with his South Carolina Republican House colleagues, Reps. Timmons, Russell Fry, Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman and Jeff Duncan, introduced the Let Freedom Sing Act that would prohibit any regulations on the singing of the National Anthem on any federal property.
“In typical Washington fashion, it literally takes an act of Congress to allow children to sing the National Anthem in the People’s House. At least these kids will have no allusion that DC is a functioning place,” Mace said in a release about the legislation.
Rasbach composed a song called “Let Freedom Sing” in celebration of the legislation and to encourage people to contact their representatives in support of the proposed law.
“That's pretty exciting, and if that gets passed, it'll be a result of what happened with our choir,” Rasbach said.
The group debuted the song at Trump’s July 1 rally in Pickens, S.C., where they performed three songs and had the opportunity to meet Trump and South Carolina politicians, including Gov. Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Rasbach said “it was an honor to sing for that event,” which left the kids “starstruck.”
“The crowd was just amazing. They were so supportive, calling out to us saying thank you kids, and thank you for standing up. Thank you for singing and really very supportive and shouting, chanting USA, USA, very loudly. It was really kind of thrilling,” Rasbach said.
Trump, in particular, is known for his support of — and sometimes fascination with — choirs and the National Anthem.
Earlier this year, he featured himself in a song “Justice for All” that was performed by inmates facing charges for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Stage name: the “J6 Choir.”
The song briefly hit number one on iTunes music.
Trump currently faces three felony cases, including one federal indictment involving four felony counts in relation to the insurrection and Trump’s alleged effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
When the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir returns to the Capitol in September, they hope to be able to perform five songs like they original planned on on May — this time including “Let Freedom Sing.”
