Culture Wars/Current Controversies

Inside the Jail Block for January 6 Rioters

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October 8, 2024
Roughly a year ago, reporter Tess Owen began reaching out to January 6 rioters held in an isolated block of the D.C. Jail, known to its residents as the “Patriot Wing.” The majority of the most violent January 6 offenders have passed through this unit: Some have stayed for only a matter of weeks, while others have lived there for years. A man named David Dempsey, who would later be called “political violence personified” by government prosecutors and would be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison — the second-most severe penalty for any participant in the Capitol attack — soon called Tess. Over the course of many months, he and other inmates provided a window into the surreal world of the wing, where prisoners are granted exceptional freedom and the crimes of January 6 are celebrated.
—Katie Ryder, features editor, New York
 

Inside the Patriot Wing January 6 rioters are running their jail block like a gang. They’re leaving more radicalized than ever.
By Tess Owen
Photo-Illustration: We Are Good Men/Rumble, @LouisofMonmouth/X
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Categories: Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Law/Justice

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