April 03, 2025

On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. In the lead up to Congress’ joint session, President Trump repeatedly made unfounded claims of voter fraud and, in a January 6 speech, encouraged his supporters to march towards the Capitol building and to “fight like hell.” Shortly thereafter, a crowd wielding flags and weapons gathered at the Capitol, quickly outnumbering police and starting a riot. Protesters forced their way into the Capitol building, breaking through doors and windows, and began to search for members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence. As the riot continued, President Trump criticized Vice President Pence for presiding over the certification of the election; rioters were heard chanting “hang Mike Pence.”  

While the violent mob’s efforts to undermine the election certification were ultimately unsuccessful, approximately 140 law enforcement officers were injured in the attack and five people died during and soon after the riot. Following the attack, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched the “largest criminal investigation in U.S. history” looking into the siege, which it identified as an act of domestic terrorism. As noted by NPR—which tracked all federal criminal cases pertaining to the attack—the FBI estimates that “around 2,000 people took part in criminal acts on Jan. 6.” In total, 1,575 individuals were charged. Among these were individuals with ties to far-right domestic extremist groups, including the Three Percenters, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers.  

On January 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump issued “complete and unconditional pardon to all […] individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” The order specifically named nine members of the Oath Keepers and five members of the Proud Boys—among them, Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers who was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Since the pardoning, the previously publicly available dataset detailing convictions of January 6 rioters has been removed from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) website. A complete database detailing all January 6 criminal cases remains available on NPR’s website. 

Since the January 20 pardoning, DarkOwl has observed violent rhetoric and conspiracy theories circulating within January 6-affiliated online groups (including those linked to the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers). This blog will explore the frequency and type of rhetoric observed on the surface, deep, and dark web as it pertains to the pardoning of the January 6 defendants. 

J6 Community’s Online Ecosystem 

Analysts have observed an extensive online community consisting of individuals indicted and/or sentenced for the January 6 (J6) attack, their family, and J6 apologists. Dozens of Telegram channels are dedicated to sharing J6-related news and updates, including information about releases and the few who remain in prison. The J6 Telegram landscape also consists of channels belonging to J6 defendants who have been released and are now sharing their stories, spreading mis- and disinformation, and corralling support for the few January 6 defendants who have not yet been released. Many of these individuals have also been observed calling for retribution through investigations into, and prosecutions of, the “criminals walking free who did this.” While many J6-related Telegram channels have dozens or hundreds of followers, others have as many as 10,000, reflecting the scale of the community and the extent of its reach.  

Additional activity has also been identified on surface web-level video-sharing social media platforms, particularly Rumble, which remains especially popular among right-wing creators and is often referred to as “right-wing YouTube.” Some channels on Rumble are exclusively dedicated to J6 news; however, prominent content creators—some with nearly 200,000 followers—are also providing J6 defendants with a platform. Multiple J6 defendants—among them, Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers—have been invited to popular Rumble channels as special guests since their pardoning, where they actively shared mis- and disinformation and claim that the FBI “manufactured narratives” regarding the January 6 attack. Henry “Enrique” Tarrio—former head of the Proud Boys—was also interviewed by Sean Spicer on his YouTube channel, where similar misinformation was shared. Both Rhodes and Tarrio had been convicted of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the January 6 attack. 

Similar activity has been observed on other surface web social media platforms, most notably Twitter. In posts observed following the pardoning of the January 6 defendants, pro-J6 Twitter posts frequently received even more views than those on Telegram. The reach of these posts is consistent with the increase in harmful and extremist content seen on the platform since it was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022. Some Telegram channels made by and tailored to J6 defendants were also found to have matching accounts on Twitter.    

Rhetoric Observed Post-J6 Pardons 

Following the Trump Administration’s pardoning of those indicted for the January 6 attack, analysts observed a wide variety of rhetoric, including continued efforts by J6 supporters to release the remaining prisoners, extensive conspiratorial rhetoric, calls for retribution, and—in some cases—calls for violence against the federal employees who investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol.  

Notably, J6 participants and supporters on the surface, deep, and dark web—from Telegram to Twitter—are coming together to call for the release of the few remaining rioters who are in prison. Emboldened by the administration’s pardons, numerous Telegram channels and Twitter accounts appear to be intensifying efforts to release the remaining J6 defendants. Many channels and accounts make nearly daily posts encouraging supporters to call President Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and other officials within the Trump Administration to request the release of the J6 “hostages.” Several of these accounts are administrated by recently pardoned J6 defendants who, in addition to calling for the release of all J6 defendants, are also encouraging those who have been pardoned to share “testimonial videos” to “expose the truth.”  

Conspiracy theories are at the heart of many of these discussions being held in J6 communities on the surface, deep, and dark web. The overarching, unfounded conspiracy theory observed across multiple platforms is the belief that the January 6 attack was orchestrated by the U.S. government. J6 supporters have been observed referring to the attack as the “J6 Fed-surrection,” and have shared conspiratorial articles claiming that FBI agents participated in the insurrection. One of the posts sharing this unfounded claim on Twitter gained 170,000 views, reflecting how this type of misinformation is gaining traction and becoming a part of the dominant discourse.    

These conspiracy theories have further fueled J6 campaigns for retribution, as notably observed in a January 30, 2025 Telegram post calling for the creation of a “J6 Taskforce” intended to “document the abuses of power and overreach demonstrated by the justice department, DC jail, DC courts, and Bureau of Prisons.” The post discussed a letter sent to President Trump to request such a taskforce, which would specifically be composed of “J6ers, J6 family members and advocates.” Indeed, DarkOwl has observed a pattern of J6 supporters interested in participating in the administration of “justice” against those who they believe have wronged them.  Immediately following their release, both  Stewart Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio vowed retribution and called for the prosecution and imprisonment of those who investigated the January 6 attack or testified against them.  

The majority of the rhetoric observed by DarkOwl in J6-affiliated Telegram channels since the pardons has not been violent in nature. This is not to say, however, that there has been a total absence of concerning or violent rhetoric. In response to articles about the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, DarkOwl saw Telegram users calling for acts of violence against those who participated in the committee. One user suggested “send Luigi [Mangione] to [their] homes,” while another added: “could always just have them ‘commit suicide.’”  

Significantly, there appears to be even more violent rhetoric directed at the J6 Committee on Twitter than on Telegram. In response to a tweet sharing an article about unfounded claims that the FBI participated in the January 6 attack, numerous individuals called for violence against the mentioned FBI officials. Users in the comment section mentioned firing squads and hangings, with one individual making an indirect threat by encouraging “traitors and liars” to “RUN!!” DarkOwl also located instances of similar rhetoric on Rumble, where users insisted on prison or the death penalty for “the entire J6 committee, Schiffs of the World, Fauci’s, Bill Gates, etc.” This language is consistent with the type of rhetoric that has been observed since the results of the 2024 presidential election, with individuals specifically calling for violence against former members of the Biden Administration.  

Conclusion 

Ultimately, the network of J6 participants and supporters online—both on the surface and dark web—remains extensive and robust. It is a community characterized by the active propagation of conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation. Perhaps more importantly, however, it is a collective of individuals bound by anger and a desire for retribution, as is evidenced by repeated calls for vengeance, whether through prison sentences or executions.  

Research across these J6-related online spaces—whether on Telegram, Twitter, Rumble, or others—reveals an overarching sentiment: the veneration of those convicted for participating in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. The defendants are portrayed as heroes—a misrepresentation that is only further bolstered by the administration’s pardons and President Trump’s description of the rioters as “patriots.” Based on the rhetoric seen across numerous platforms, the J6 community’s goals appear clear: release the remaining prisoners and push for the persecution of members of the J6 Committee. Whether or not—and how—the group is able to achieve the latter, however, remains unclear. 

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