Washington —The former leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys and other defendants convicted for crimes connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol are set to return to Washington, D.C., for a march markingfive years since the attack.
The event is billed as a memorial march honoring Ashli Babbitt and four others who died on or after Jan. 6. Babbitt, a supporter of President Trump's, was shot and killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer while a mob attempted to breach the Speaker's Lobby outside the House chamber nearly five years ago. Brian Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer whodied after suffering two strokesafter he defended the Capitol during the assault, is also set to be honored.
Among those promoting the march is Enrique Tarrio, the former head of the Proud Boys who wasconvicted of chargesincluding seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 attack andsentenced to 22 years in prison. Tarrio was among the more than 1,500 defendants convicted of Jan. 6-related crimes whoreceived clemencyfrom President Trump on his first day back in the White House in January 2025.
Tarrio announced the event on social media,writing on Xon Dec. 22 that it will be a "PATRIOTIC and PEACEFUL march."
"If you have any intention of causing trouble we ask that you stay home. This event will focus on one thing and one thing only…HER memory," Tarrio said, referencing Babbitt.
The march is set to begin at 11:45 a.m. at the Ellipse in front of the White House and end at the Capitol, according to Tarrio. The route follows the path that a mob of Mr. Trump's supporters took on Jan. 6 nearly five years ago. The presidentgave a speechto those gathered at the Ellipse to protest the results of the 2020 election and urged his supporters to march down to the Capitol, where the House and Senate convened to certify the election results.
Mr. Trump told the crowd that they would be "marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" and urged them to "fight like hell."
Alsopromoting the marchis Guy Reffitt, who was a member of the far-right militia group the Texas Three Percenters. He wasconvicted of five chargesstemming from the Capitol attack andsentenced to 87 months in prisonbefore he was pardoned by Mr. Trump.
The march involving Tarrio and Reffitt will be taking place alongside a hearing led by Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and members of the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack. Thompson chaired the panel, whichconcluded its work in late 2022andrecommended that Mr. Trump be prosecutedfor his conduct surrounding the riots.
The presidentfaced four criminal chargesbrought by former special counsel Jack Smith related to his alleged efforts to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 election, but thecase was dismissedafter he won reelection in 2024.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffriessaid Mondaythat the hearing will examine "ongoing threats to free and fair elections posed by an out-of-control Trump administration, expose the election deniers who hold high-level positions of significance in the executive branch and detail the threats to public safety posed by the hundreds of violent felons who were pardoned on the President's first day in office."
"In the years since that disgraceful day, far-right Republicans in Congress have repeatedly attempted to rewrite history and whitewash the events of January 6th. Our country has been indelibly scarred," Jeffries, of New York, wrote in a letter to House Democrats.
Mr. Trump has downplayed the events of Jan. 6,calling it a "day of love,"and defended those who were charged for their conduct during the assault. More than 140 police officers wereinjured in the Capitol attack.
Video footage from the assault showed Babbitttrying to climb througha broken window as protesters attempted to gain entry into the Speaker's Lobby. Lawmakers had gathered in the chamber to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election and were evacuated as the mob of demonstrators breached the Capitol building.
Babbitt's familyfiled a $30 million wrongful death lawsuitagainst the U.S. government in January 2024, which the Trump administrationagreed to settlefor $5 million. Many of Mr. Trump's supporters and Capitol rioters have claimed that the police used unnecessary force against those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The U.S. Capitol Policeconducted an internal investigationinto the fatal shooting and concluded that the officer involved, Michael Byrd, acted lawfully and within department policy. The department said he potentially saved members of Congress and staff from "serious injury and possible death" from the rioters who had forced their way into the Capitol.
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