Former President Donald Trump has “expressed interest” in attending a fundraising campaign slated to be held at his New Jersey golf club in September that is geared toward raising money for defendants charged in connection to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Despite his campaign stating on Friday that Trump would not be attending the so-dubbed “J6 Awards Gala,” an organizer said there is a chance he still shows up at the Bedminster club for the Sept. 5 event.
“Mr. Trump has expressed interest in coming and we are waiting for the campaign’s final approval,” an organizer told NBC New York.
The campaign has made no further comment to NBC News regarding the event. The possibility of Trump being in attendance is generating outrage from those targeted in the storming of the Capitol in 2021.
“These people who are calling themselves ‘hostages’ assaulted police officers, violently and viciously attacked 140 of my co-workers and colleagues,” said former U.S Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. “Supporting people who assaulted law enforcement, who sought to overthrow the government, who were chanting ‘hang Mike Pence’ and going to kill Nancy Pelosi — they’re going to celebrate that?”
The event is being hosted by the Stand in the Gap Foundation, a “non-profit foundation dedicated to advocating for change in re-entry, family services, and justice reform,” that focuses on Jan. 6 defendants, according to the event website. A video on social media also promotes the gala, which is set to raise money for the defendants’ legal fees.
Stand in the Gap is listed as a sponsor, along with Glory Bank and The America Project, according to the Daily Beast, which first reported the event.
According to the event page, the night will feature 20 Jan. 6 defendants who contributed to the song “Justice for All,” a charity record by former President Donald Trump and the J6 Prison Choir. Trump has used the recording to open campaign events.
“The funds raised will provide much-needed assistance to the January 6th defendants who continue to face significant challenges,” the page says.
Tickets to the gala range from $2,500 for general admission to $50,000 for a VIP Platinum table for 12 guests.
The main event page features a flyer that includes Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani among the invited speakers. An organizer confirmed that Giuliani and former White House aide Peter Navarro — who spent four month in jail for contempt of Congress — would speak at the event.
Navarro and Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to The New York Times, the husband of the woman behind the nonprofit is a former law enforcement officer in Tennessee who is serving time in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. The organization’s co-founder is another Jan. 6 defendant, the paper reports.
More than 1,265 people across nearly all 50 states and D.C. have been federally charged in the three years since the Capitol riot, according to a 2024 report released marking the milestone. About 750 have been sentenced.
Trump has promised to pardon people charged in connection with the case.
Five people died in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 assault. Those include former U.S. Capitol police officer and New Jerseyean Brian Sicknick, whose family was among those headlining civilian speeches at the Democratic National Convention’s final night Thursday.
