Over 100 alleged participants of the Capitol riot are crowdfunding in an attempt to pay their soaring legal fees, with around $3 million being raised by the group so far.
As Daily Dot reports, they collectively hope to raise $13 million in total, with donations for each of the accused individuals fluctuating massively – as some haven't garnered any donations at all.
Daily Dot’s in-house analysis suggests that fundraising targets also massively vary, with some as low as $10,000, while others are upwards of half a million.
The violent mob’s storming of the Capitol building on 6 January 2021 is the subject of numerous Congressional investigations exactly one year on.
With more than 700 people currently facing criminal charges for their role in the insurrection, it is hardly surprising that some have taken it upon themselves to try and raise funds for each of their respective legal battles.
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In total, Daily Dot uncovered $2,828,135 in donations to parties who claimed an affiliation with someone charged or facing accusations of being involved in the Capitol riot. Back in September of last year, CNN launched a similar investigation of their own, where they discovered that accused participants had raised over $2 million across hundreds of crowdfunding sites.
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Many of the rioters forced their way into the Senate chambers on Jan 6
(Getty Images)
The framing of the narrative surrounding 6 January is key to most of the crowdfunding campaigns. Many, for instance, categorise themselves as peaceful protesters who are being persecuted by the powers that be. One of two fundraisers benefiting Joe Biggs, a leader of the Proud Boys, refers to him and his fellow defendants as “non-violent American Patriots”.
Ali Alexander, the chief ‘Stop the Steal’ organiser, similarly insists, “We did nothing wrong on January 6th.”
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However, this is in direct contradiction to compelling video evidence, as well as personal testimony from individuals who were on the ground as the insurrection began to unfold.
No official tally exists for how many suffer from emotional wounds, although four have died by suicide since the riot. The widow of an officer who fatally shot himself as he was returning to work eight days after the riot told the The New York Times that she blames the events of that day for her husband’s death.