Right-wing and left-wing groups plan vigils in DC on anniversary of Capitol riot

Rival vigils are currently being planned for the anniversary of the January 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol that took place in order to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

Both a group on the right and groups on the left have their eyes on the date to push their respective agendas.

A right-wing group is using the anniversary of the incident as a chance to continue their insistence that those charged as a result of the ordeal are “political prisoners.”

The group, Look Ahead America, which was responsible for the September “Justice for J6” rally, announced on Monday the plans for a vigil outside of the D.C. jail.

On that same day, dozens of left leaning groups are planning vigils throughout the states to remember the day. Those groups are also demanding that lawmakers protect voting rights. The event took place in part due to claims of election fraud, which many say exhibits the political divide seen in the country today with regard to reality.

“Ideas about election fraud have now rooted themselves so deeply in the Republican Party…where we have a big chunk of the population who doesn’t believe in our democratic system anymore,” said co-founder of the Global Project against Hate and Extremism, Heidi Beirich.

Beirich also is a former director of intelligence at the Southern Poverty Law Center. She continued, “In this country, red and blue are so far apart in terms of what they see as reality.”

Several Republican-led legislatures across the United States introduced and passed tighter voting measures after the claims of fraud in the 2020 election spread. Democrats and other voting rights groups have continued to push back, especially demanding federal voting protections to overrule restrictive laws in the states.