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

Name: Music to Donald Trump's ears: Whitewashing Jan. 6 with song
Uploaded: 21 Apr 2023, 04:36:35 PM
Duration: 02:11
Channel: TIMESOFINDIA.COM

97 views | Apr 21, 2023, 04:36:35 PM | AP

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.