Continue on TOI App
Open App
Login for better experience!
Login Now
Welcome! to timesofindia.com
TOI+

Music to Donald Trump's ears: Whitewashing Jan. 6 with song

AP / Apr 21, 2023, 16.36 PM IST

A song featuring Donald Trump and a choir of prisoners charged with crimes related to Capitol riot briefly took the No. 1 spot on iTunes last month, edging out Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. It's the latest effort to whitewash the events of Jan. 6, 2021 attack, when Trump supporters broke into the Capitol and fought with police in an attempt to derail the certification of Joe Biden's victory in 2020. The tune, “Justice for All,” is the Star-Spangled Banner and it was sung by a group of defendants jailed over their alleged roles in the January 2021 insurrection. Recorded over a prison phone line, the national anthem sounds more like a dirge than celebration, and is overlaid with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Despite its low fidelity, “Justice for All” has garnered a lot of fans. Trump played it at a recent rally in Waco, Texas as images of rioters flashed behind him on a big screen. Experts on extremism and propaganda say the song is the latest example of how Trump and his most ardent allies are trying to gloss over an avalanche of evidence proving the Capitol riot was anything but an act of patriotic resistance. "The song is clearly designed to portray the inmates as political prisoners and patriots," said Associated Press reporter David Klepper. The song shows how such revisionists have dug deep into authoritarian playbooks that rely heavily on the use of national identity to sway public opinion. In this case, Trump and his allies are ironically relying on America's most patriotic song in their efforts to whitewash an insurrection that contributed to five deaths and left more than 120 police officers injured. Jan. 6 defendants, who issued tearful apologies and expressions of remorse in court, are now boasting of their participation or seeking to profit from it. Groups have sprung up to sell T-shirts emblazoned with “Free the Jan. 6 Protesters” and other merchandise that seeks to portray the rioters as principled demonstrators. Many say they are trying to raise money for the Jan. 6 defendants and their families. That is the case with the groups behind “Justice for All,” or at least what they claim. Just as in other commercial ventures involving diehard Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists, it is difficult to pin down even basic facts about the song’s production and profits. Released in early March, the song is associated with The Justice for All Project, Inc., a nonprofit registered the same month with an address in Sarasota, Florida. Ed Henry, a former Fox News personality, is listed as a director of the organization, and is also credited with Kash Patel, who worked for the Trump administration, as a producer of “Justice for All.” Further obscuring the song's genesis: its record label is listed as Mailman Media, a for-profit company that was only registered in Florida in February. It’s unclear which organization receives proceeds from the song. Mailman Media's involvement was first reported by Forbes. The 20 inmates singing in the J6 Prison choir make up a fraction of the 1,000 people who have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. More than 600 have pleaded guilty or been convicted, and more than 450 have been sentenced, with over half receiving prison terms ranging from seven days to 10 years. Just one choir member has been identified: Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, now serving four years in prison for his actions during Jan. 6. Cusanelli is a family friend of Cynthia Hughes, a New Jersey woman who leads a separate organization raising money for Jan. 6 defendants. A spokeswoman for Hughes confirmed Hale-Cusanelli's participation on the song but said Hughes was too busy to respond to questions. Before he joined the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, Hale-Cusanelli was an Army reservist who sometimes styled his mustache like Hitler and who alarmed coworkers with his comments about women and Jews. Prosecutors alleged the 33-year-old New Jersey man urged other rioters to “advance;” video footage captured him yelling profanities at police and screaming “the revolution will be televised!” At his sentencing in September, like many Jan. 6 defendants, Hale-Cusanelli expressed regret for his role in the attack.

03:09
Uttarakhand: Heavy rains cause massive destruction in Pipalkoti, roads and buildings damaged
03:22
Temple tragedy: At least 9 killed as temple in Shimla collapses due to heavy rainfall
02:25
Security beefed up in Delhi ahead of Independence Day
03:02
Doda's iconic Ganpat Bridge illuminated with Tricolour splendor to celebrate Independence Day
04:33
Watch: Waterlogging in Chennai following heavy rains
03:47
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project: SC dismisses plea by Godrej & Boyce challenging Bombay HC order on land acquisition
01:26
Anand Dighe's home is Shiv Sena's new central office
03:58
Freebies galore in poll-bound Karnataka: Congress promises 10kg free rice to all BPL families, if voted to power
06:41
Ahead of Standing Committee polls, AAP Councillor Pawan Sehrawat joins BJP
07:47
Need collective work to meet global challenged like climate change and high debt levels: PM Modi
08:54
India & Trump's Russian Oil Trade Claims CLASH | 'Energy Security Of 1.4 Bn Supreme Priority'
10:22
Budget 2026: Indian FM’s Huge Income Tax Announcement | Latest Slabs, Old & New Regime Rates
44:07
'Delhi NOT Most Polluted': Doctor's Shocking Reveal On Toxic Monster; And How To Fight Back
04:37
PM Modi's Big Declaration In 1st Visit To J&K After Pahalgam Attack | 'Pak Attacked Kashmiriyat'
04:08
Sikkim: Landslide Hits Indian Army Camp After River Teesta Swells; 3 Personnel Killed, 6 Missing
09:15
FULL SPEECH: Tharoor Mocks Pak's Kashmir 'Dream' In Guyana | 'They Want Something They Don't Have'
06:36
PM Modi's Shocking New Op Sindoor Reveal | '9 Terror Hideouts In Pak Destroyed In Just 22 Mins'
03:20
Indian Air Force Flaunts Rafale, BrahMos In 1st Video After Decimating Pak Airbases In Op Sindoor
04:26
Indian Army Shares 1st Video Of Missiles, Russian S-400 In Action During Op Sindoor Against Pak
04:04
India's Ballistic Missiles Spook Munir; Pak Army HQ To Be Moved After Nur Khan Base Attack | Report
ET Now Live
Zoom TV Live
Mirror Now Live
Times Now Live
03:18
Shocking! Lawyer rams Mercedes car into Kachori shop in Delhi, Six injured
03:16
Telangana cop punched, dragged by villagers, video goes viral
03:08
On Cam: Crane drags car with senior citizens sitting inside, case registered | video goes viral
03:18
Instagram influencer shot dead by husband in Rajasthan's Phalodi
03:16
CCTV: Thieves arrive in car, decamp with jewellery in MP's Damoh
03:13
Goons hurl abuses at toll plaza employee in MP's Chhatarpur
03:12
Viral: Cobra blocks road in MP's Chhatarpur district
03:15
Nigeria: Lion kills zookeeper at Obafemi Awolowo University
03:17
CCTV: Biker crushed to death by speeding bus in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district
03:03
Four women steal tray full of earrings from a jewellery shop in MP's Raisen