Story update 9/3/2024: According to the J6 Awards Gala website, this event has been postponed. A new date and location has not been announced. This story as originally published is below.
More than 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Their charges range from misdemeanor offenses like trespassing to felonies like assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy.
Some of those defendants have been receiving outside assistance to help pay for legal services.
Several VERIFY readers texted us to ask if an event called the “J6 Awards Gala” was real. One reader shared an image appearing to advertise the event that said it’s being held at former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
THE QUESTION
Is a fundraiser being held for Jan. 6 insurrection defendants at one of Trump’s golf courses?
THE SOURCES
- Trump campaign statement to Axios and NBC New York
- The America Project and Stand in the Gap website for the J6 Awards Gala
- Review of Donald Trump’s event calendar and social media posts
THE ANSWER
Yes, a fundraiser is being held for Jan. 6 insurrection defendants at one of Trump’s golf courses. It's unclear what role, if any, Trump played in the fundraiser and Trump's campaign has told several news outlets that he would not be attending.
WHAT WE FOUND
On Sept. 5, an event called the J6 Awards Gala is being held at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. While Trump has spoken at Jan. 6 defendant fundraising events before, Trump’s campaign has told various news outlets he will not be attending this one.
Trump’s campaign didn’t return VERIFY’s request for comment, but a campaign spokesperson told Axios and NBC New York that the former president would not be attending.
The J6 Awards Gala is a fundraising event benefiting Stand in the Gap Foundation, a non-profit organization that has been providing financial support for the Jan. 6 defendants’ legal bills.
General admission tickets to the event start at $1,500. A single VIP ticket is $2,500, a VIP table for 12 costs $30,000 and a VIP platinum table of 12 is $50,000, according to the Stand in the Gap event website.
The website also has a list of confirmed guest speakers; among those is Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Trump, though, is not confirmed on the website but a banner on top of his image says “INVITED.”
VERIFY searched through Trump’s social media posts and found no mention of his planned attendance. His campaign events website does not have anything listed on his calendar for September, as of Aug. 26.
Trump has shown support in the past for the jailed riot defendants, referring to them as “J6 hostages, not prisoners.” In June 2023, Trump spoke at a fundraiser benefiting Jan. 6 defendants also held at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. That event was organized by the Patriot Freedom Project, another organization that assists defendants involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
VERIFY also reached out to Stand in the Gap, Trump National Golf Club and The America Project, which has also been promoting the event, for comment but did not hear back at the time of publication.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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