So, Uh, How About That Total Failure Of A Pro-Insurrectionist Rally This Weekend?

Geraldine Lovell from Maryland cries under a tree as she talks about the problems facing the United States as she takes part with demonstrators gathering for the "Justice for J6" rally in Washington, DC, on September... Geraldine Lovell from Maryland cries under a tree as she talks about the problems facing the United States as she takes part with demonstrators gathering for the "Justice for J6" rally in Washington, DC, on September 18, 2021, in support of the pro-Trump rioters who ransacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. - A few hundred protesters turned up Saturday in Washington to rally in support of the pro-Trump rioters who ransacked the US Capitol on January 6,2021 but they were outnumbered by a robust security presence and journalists. Police, who were caught on the back foot by the deadly riot on Capitol Hill, took no chances this time around, deploying a phalanx of officers and erecting a security fence around the Capitol complex. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.

Sad Trombone

Capitol Police were ready for a potential Jan. 6 redux, 100 National Guard troops stood by, fences were installed, people bit their nails. … but Saturday’s pro-Trump “Fight for J6” rally at the Capitol, was by all accounts a complete flop.

  • Rally organizer ​​Matt Braynard, an ex-Trump campaign aide, was clearly prepared for failure. He insisted to MSNBC before the rally that “It’s not really a numbers game, it’s a message game” and so “already this rally is a success.”
  • Footage of the rally posted by journalists and observers shows a smattering of actual Trump supporters and a ton of news camera crews. These threads have some videos and pics that give you a pretty good idea of how well it all went:

  • I mean……

  • The goal was to whitewash the events of the Capitol attack by making out the violent insurrectionists to be “political prisoners” and “fighting the narrative about what actually happened on Jan. 6,” according to Braynard. You decide if that gambit paid off.
  • Was this sad fart that much of a surprise? I mean, not really. You had a bunch of Trump goons like Roger Stone saying the event was going to be a “setup” and warning people not to go.
    • Despite releasing a statement a few days before the rally lamenting that “our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest,” Trump himself claimed the event would be a setup and, per the New York Times, believed it would be used against him by the media no matter what happened.
    • Even professional trolls like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who’s currently being investigated for sex trafficking, didn’t show up.
    • Far-right extremists, like the Proud Boys, fretted online that the rally would be infiltrated by law enforcement.

A Texas Doctor Openly Declares He Performed An Abortion

Alan Braid, a doctor in San Antonio, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post revealing that he had provided an abortion to a woman who was past the six-week limit to get the procedure in Texas under the state’s cruel new anti-abortion law.

  • Braid wrote the op-ed fully aware of the consequences of the ban, including the fact that he could be sued for $10,000 by any private citizen.

I acted because I had a duty of care to this patient, as I do for all patients, and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care. I fully understood that there could be legal consequences—but I wanted to make sure that Texas didn’t get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested.

The FBI’s Probe Into Threats Against Election Officials Escalates

The feds have ramped up their investigation into the threats by reaching out to victims for the first time, according to CNN.

  • One of those victims, Milwaukee Election Commission chair Claire Woodall-Vogg, has gotten more than 150 threats, she told CNN.

GOP-Drawn District Map Gets Foiled

Nebraska Republicans’ map of the state’s new congressional district lines was defeated by filibustering Democrats and one Republican.

  • A GOP state senator who chairs the legislature’s Redistricting Committee and the committee’s Democratic vice chair will lead discussions to create a new proposal, according to the Star-Herald.
  • You can check out how state lawmakers hope to redraw their maps in these helpful graphics by the Washington Post.

A Jarring View Of COVID-19 Casualties

More than 600,000 flags across 20 acres of land have been planted near the Washington Monument in memory of Americans who died from the pandemic.

West Virginia Governor Asks You To Get The Vaccine, And To Do It For His Dog

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) , who’s been repeatedly pleading his constituents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 during his press briefings, likes to bring this very good doggy to help persuade the unvaccinated:

I dare you to say no to that face.

Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!

Latest Morning Memo
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: