Flashback Tuesday: You Know Where To Find Me - A Look Back At January 6th
(First published February 4, 2021 on ANDmagazine.com)
No.: 668. To whom granted and rank: John Faddes, Heir of James Faddes, Privt. No. acres: 640 Service in months: 84 Location and to whom deeded and date of warrant. Within the limits of the lands allotted the officers and soldiers of the Continental Line, by Law, 1783, Oct. 14: Apr. 26 : Jno. Gray Blount Self”
That’s the text of a land warrant, in this case, a grant of land to a distant ancestor of mine, James Faddes, for his service in the Continental Line of what would become the State of North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. The land in question was in all likelihood in what is now known as Tennessee. James could not take possession of the land. He died on a British prison ship in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina circa 1780, so the land went to his son, John.
At the time of the Revolution, the Family Faddis had charitably been in the Americas for twenty-five years. They were poor Scots-Irish who had come to the Colonies, like so many others, searching for a place where they could own land and live free. As evidenced by the variation in the way they spelled their family name they were borderline illiterate.
The fact that they had come here did not mean they had run away from anything. It meant they, like the millions of immigrants who have come here since, were looking for a place to make a stand. They were looking for a place they could make their own. King George discovered that the hard way when he decided he could bend them to his will.
In Washington D.C. these days there seems to be an enormous amount of energy being devoted to attempting to identify and bring to justice not just those individuals who entered the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and committed crimes, but anyone deemed to have been “associated” with the 6 January rally. That effort has apparently expanded beyond simply law enforcement channels and now involves corporations, including the Bank of America, which are scouring their records and providing information to the FBI, so it can track down these “domestic violent extremists.” TSA is, according to reports, working with airlines to identify those individuals who pose a continuing danger and prevent them from returning to D.C.
This seems like a lot of trouble. I will save them some time. I was there. Not in the Capitol building or frankly anywhere particularly close to it, but in D.C. on January 6, 2021.
I wasn’t there, because I think the World Trade Center was hit by a missile, think secret military tribunals are convening around the country, or wanted to be part of a coup and install Donald Trump as “Dictator for Life.” I wasn’t there as part of some secret, white supremacist organization out to subvert democracy and create an Aryan paradise. I didn’t even bring a torch or a pitchfork – just a cell phone.
I was there to exercise my rights of freedom of speech and assembly.
I was there because I believe we are in the midst of a titanic battle for the soul of this nation, and that if we are not vigilant and resolute we are going to wake up one day very soon and realize we are living in a real-life dystopian nightmare in which Big Tech, corrupt politicians, massive government bureaucracies and the corporate media run this nation and our democracy has become nothing but a façade.
I was there because every person who has ever studied what would happen if you moved to no excuse mail-in voting and stripped out all safeguards, such as signature checks, postmark requirements, etc. has agreed that the result would be electoral fraud on an unprecedented scale. Put simply, such a system would produce a result, which could not possibly be trusted.
I was there because I knew that the individuals and the groups that pushed to abandon in-person voting and move – in a matter of months – to a system grounded on mail-in ballots, knew exactly what they were doing. They were opening Pandora’s Box, and they were doing it for one reason, to make it possible to steal an election.
I was there because I believe the evidence shows clearly that they succeeded.
So, I went to D.C. I went to the Mall. I talked with people of all colors and all ages from all over the country. I spoke with a nice couple from Southeastern Pennsylvania. I spoke with the folks carrying the “Iranians for Trump” banner. I unexpectedly bumped into a guy I already knew who had come all the way from Arizona to stand with President Trump.
I wandered through the crowd. I listened to the President speak, as best I could. He was some distance away, and his words were often indistinct. I wandered down to Third Street near the Capitol building with the hundreds of thousands of other individuals who were moving in the same direction.
There was no screaming or shouting. There were no cries for violence. I heard not a single threat uttered the entire day. I saw a very large number of people trying to send a loud signal that they no longer trust the system and that they still believe they rule this country – not some self-designated class of elitists.
Then I went home.
So, if you are looking to round people up and silence those who have the audacity to believe this is a democracy, and there really are certain unalienable rights, you know where to find me. I won’t run. James would never let me live it down.
Editor’s Note: In light of the release of previously unseen January 6 footage to the Tucker Carlson Show, we thought we would revisit our first-hand account of the January 6th rally in D.C. We weren’t present at the Capitol Building or grounds, but what we observed that day was the peaceful protest of concerned citizens.
Many folks were prosecuted, if not outright persecuted, and sentenced to prison for their presence in and near the Capitol that day without them or their attorneys having access to this relevant evidence. Those who were violent and committed crimes should have been convicted. Many others, however, were convicted on charges that in light of this new evidence appear clearly unwarranted. We hope those individuals who were wrongly convicted will be able to seek new trials and file appeals so that justice may be done.
I too was at J6 and, the month before, the Jericho (prayer) March. For the same reasons and motivations cited by Mr. Faddis. I too went with peaceful intent, and was peaceful all day. I never entered the Capitol building - I didn't even know that folks had been inside until I got back to my hotel that evening and saw it on the news.
I did see plenty of Antifa / ShutDown DC types - FBI operatives? - within the crowd. Easy to spot: twenty-something males, black clothing festooned with some Trump accessories to mask their Antifa uniforms. Almost all with backpacks on. Later, many with helmets and some even with gas masks (which is probably what the backpacks were for).
Backpacks weren't allowed on the Ellipse grounds where the duly re-elected President Trump was speaking ... so those folks were not interested in his speech, and weren't there.
In November, 2020, this country was subjected to a coup d'etat, using color revolution techniques.
My daily prayer includes an entreaty to God that He "deliver us from the Satanic evil of Collectivism, that has seized control of our country ... that the evildoers responsible be identified and brought to justice ... and that the revelations, in turn, cause the scales to fall from tens of millions of my fellow citizens' eyes, and serves as the catalyst for a new Great Awakening in this land, and across the globe."
The preponderance of the many first-hand stories from that day I've read reveal the same thoughts and emotions of knowing and caring individuals. For those present, it was going to be a day to remember, but not the train-wreck version that would be continually displayed and focused on with such a vicious dedication to slander, deception, lies and a zeal for injustice. The Age of the Absurd arrived with Obama’s election, and we are in the woes and lamentations space now - waiting for the next shoe to drop. Can it get worse… but of course. Thank you for posting this fine piece of history.