WASHINGTON — A Jan. 6 protester from the Austin, Texas, area wore the same shoes to Tuesday’s five-year anniversary march in Washington, D.C., that he did in 2021 when he arrived in the nation’s capital to protest what he believed was a stolen and rigged election that resulted in President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss.
He recounted that day — he said he wanted to meet the Proud Boys, to peacefully protest and to use his First Amendment rights, he said, but ended up getting shot in the neck with a rubber bullet once he arrived at the Capitol and the riot broke out.
He said he likely would have entered the Capitol building had he not worn new shoes that hurt his feet.
“My shoes, these shoes, I had these shoes on, they were killing me,” he said. “Brand-new shoes.”
The protester, who asked that his name not be used, hasn’t been back to Washington since 2021, but decided to make the visit on the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. He came with a friend, one he met that day, because he remembers coming face-to-face with Ashli Babbitt.
Babbitt was fatally shot when storming the Capitol after Trump supporters were called to the city to protest his election loss to former President Joe Biden.
Trump urged his supporters to protest in D.C. on the day that Congress would be certifying Biden’s win. He delivered remarks and told them to march to the Capitol. After many of them did, the building was violently breached.
Babbitt was one of the individuals who entered the building through a smashed window. Lt. Michael Byrd was aiming his pistol in the area after he ordered people not to enter. Babbitt was shot in her left shoulder and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The event Tuesday, organized by Proud Boys group former leader Enrique Tarrio, was to honor Babbitt’s life, and the others who died after the incident, and mark the fifth anniversary of the riots.
When Trump reentered the White House last January, he pardoned and granted clemency to nearly all 1,600 people convicted or awaiting trial for their actions on Jan. 6. Some individuals were convicted for attacking police officers, entering restricted areas, property damage and more. Tarrio was serving a 22-year sentence until Trump pardoned him.
So, for Tarrio and many others who were in Washington in 2021, Tuesday’s march was a joyful reunion and sense of relief.
Kathy Pool, 65, of Florida, made her first trip back to D.C. for the five-year anniversary and gathering. She believes that there were undercover individuals among the rioters that day, including antifa and Black Lives Matter supporters, that began the destruction at the Capitol to make Trump supporters look violent.
“I just came to peacefully protest. I’m 65 years old. I did not mean to start any problems, nothing,” Pool said. “I just came to pray and sing, be with fellow patriots and go back home.”
Detailing the story of the 2021 protest, Pool said she was marching with others underneath an American flag until they made it to the west side of the Capitol. She hid for cover under the scaffolding when tear gas and rubber bullets rained down from above. Pool said she stayed there until eventually making her way back to her car.
Pool said being back in Washington is a “little unnerving” because there are people in the city who don’t want those involved with Jan. 6 around town. When she was leaving her hotel in 2021, she said individuals screamed at her and she was “never so glad to get out of here in my whole life.”
“But that’s our right. We, as Americans, have a right to peacefully protest. I didn’t have any arms. I didn’t have any problems with anybody that day. I mean, it was a great day, believe it or not. We sang, we laughed, we talked together, we hugged, we cried,” Pool said.
“We just came to support Trump. And (Mike) Pence, we wanted him to send the Electoral College votes back and let them be recounted. That’s all we wanted,” she said, noting that she “absolutely” believes the 2020 race was rigged.
Though still contested, officials have determined the election was not stolen. A new investigation into the events surrounding Jan. 6 could begin soon.
While Pool and the other individuals interviewed by Deseret News on Tuesday did not commit acts of violence in 2021, many did.
When rioters breached the Capitol that afternoon, members of Congress were evacuated or told to shelter in place. Some individuals became violent, injuring more than 100 law enforcement officers. Windows throughout the Capitol building were smashed, lawmaker offices were ransacked, graffiti was displayed in the hallways and other paintings or artifacts were damaged in the breach.
Rioters threatened to kill several leaders, including then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and then-Vice President Mike Pence for his refusal to not reconsider the vote counts and his decision to go through with certifying the election results.
Pool said she felt safe on Tuesday due to the increased police presence and the deployment of National Guard members in the city. Pool donned a commemorative jacket she had airbrushed with popular Jan. 6-related art, including Babbitt’s initials and the initials of Roseanne Boyland, who was trampled to death in the crowd.
“I was going to get a tattoo, but it would have been huge,” she said, turning around to display the jacket. “It just, it explains a lot.”
Pool said she loves that Trump is back in office and was glad the 2024 election didn’t “get stolen again.” Asked what she wanted people who think Jan. 6 was a terrible day to know, she said, “We all have our opinions, right?”
“I think my opinion matters,” Pool said. “I’m no different than you. You want the same things I want. You want peace, you want happiness. You want to have freedoms.”
Counter-protesters attend Jan. 6 anniversary march
But there were some people in the area Tuesday who thought the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was a terrible thing.
Tim Milligan, 65, of Maryland, drove down to D.C. to counterprotest the gathering. He said he was there because he didn’t want to “let these people legitimize five years ago.” Milligan said he was shocked to see the events unfold in 2021.
“It was disgusting. I couldn’t believe it, like most people couldn’t believe it,” he said. “It got so crazy.”
He said he received dirty looks from some of the Trump supporters in the crowd on Tuesday, but generally he — and his large anti-Trump sign — were left alone.
“I think they want this to be peaceful. So, so far, so good,” Milligan said. “There is a pretty heavy police presence everywhere … well, there should have been a heavier police presence at the Capitol five years ago. I guess they didn’t expect it.”
While the march Tuesday outside the White House remained peaceful, Milligan said he is in disbelief there are those who would wear red MAGA hats.
“They drank the Kool-Aid. They drank the Trump Kool-Aid. I can’t believe they still believe it, but there’s people that believe all kinds of crazy stuff, you know, aliens or whatever,” he said.
“YMCA” music blasted from a speaker carried by a Trump supporter. It’s one of the president’s favorite songs and was also played a few hours before the march at the Kennedy Center, just over a mile away, as Trump delivered remarks to House Republicans. He made little mention of the anniversary in his speech but said the 2020 election was “rigged.”
The White House also released a web page featuring their version of the events of Jan. 6, with Pelosi and other Democrats featured. The administration details the actions taken by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, and includes a timeline of that day in 2021 and more.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, congressional Democrats noted the anniversary of the attack with a special hearing and remarks to the media.
The pro-Trump man from Texas watched as press and other Trump supporters gathered in front of the White House and delivered remarks about arrests, convictions, the 2021 protest and more. Other speakers included Tarrio and Babbitt’s mother, Micki Witthoeft.
He said he feels relief knowing that Trump is back in the White House because although he didn’t go inside the Capitol that day, he lived in fear that he could be targeted for even being there. He put a camera system outside his home to monitor if he’d ever get a knock on the door by the police.
“I was that close. If my feet hadn’t been hurting, and I would have been right there with him, I promise,” he said, referring to his friend who went to prison for entering the Capitol. “I’d have gone in there as well. And I was just like, thank you, lucky stars.”
As for how the shoes are now?
“They’re broken in. Five years later,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to add additional context.