January 6, 2025 • 21 mins
In this eye-opening episode, Dillon sits down with John Strand—a January 6 defendant who spent four months in solitary confinement without a phone call or formal charges. Strand, an actor and model from Los Angeles, offers a first-person account of the Capitol events and unpacks how he ended up on the FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’ list.
He also discusses the aftermath, his new book Patriot Plea, and why he believes Americans must stand up and engage politically. If you’ve ever wanted an inside look at the real stories and alleged government overreach surrounding January 6, this conversation is a must-watch.
Support John Below:
Website: https://t.co/2uYyO12UUE
Follow John on X!: https://x.com/JohnStrandUSA?t=woqAbgSqRDydcUUV3R_Law&s=09
Video Chapters (00:21:24):
00:00 – Introduction & Who is John Strand?
01:05 – Debunking January 6 Stereotypes: West Coast Actor’s Perspective
04:00 – Arriving in D.C.: The Peaceful Start & Confusion at the Capitol
07:40 – Entering the Building: Chaos, Flashbangs & Tear Gas Residue
10:55 – The FBI’s Most Wanted Poster: From Speaking Tour to Targeted Arrest
13:40 – Four Days in Solitary Confinement Without Due Process
16:00 – Thoughts on Accountability & Justice for J6
18:50 – Why Civic Engagement Matters: A Call to Action
20:30 – Where to Find John’s Book & Social Media Links
Order our LOW ACID COFFEE "THE BROADCAST BREW": Link to coffee: https://www.coolbeanscoffeemi.com/product-page/broadcast-brew-low-acid-blend
Thank you to Cool Beans Coffee Brewery for your partnership!
#thedillonenglandshow
____________________________________________________
Connect with Dillon:
https://twitter.com/dillonmengland
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillonmengland/
https://www.facebook.com/dillon.england.5
ABOUT THE DILLON ENGLAND SHOW:
Our mission is to provide our listeners with authentic conversation with interesting people, covering a wide range of topics from personal growth, entrepreneurship and lifestyle improvement, all while keeping it entertaining and informative.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-dillon-england-show--6370921/support.
He also discusses the aftermath, his new book Patriot Plea, and why he believes Americans must stand up and engage politically. If you’ve ever wanted an inside look at the real stories and alleged government overreach surrounding January 6, this conversation is a must-watch.
Support John Below:
Website: https://t.co/2uYyO12UUE
Follow John on X!: https://x.com/JohnStrandUSA?t=woqAbgSqRDydcUUV3R_Law&s=09
Video Chapters (00:21:24):
00:00 – Introduction & Who is John Strand?
01:05 – Debunking January 6 Stereotypes: West Coast Actor’s Perspective
04:00 – Arriving in D.C.: The Peaceful Start & Confusion at the Capitol
07:40 – Entering the Building: Chaos, Flashbangs & Tear Gas Residue
10:55 – The FBI’s Most Wanted Poster: From Speaking Tour to Targeted Arrest
13:40 – Four Days in Solitary Confinement Without Due Process
16:00 – Thoughts on Accountability & Justice for J6
18:50 – Why Civic Engagement Matters: A Call to Action
20:30 – Where to Find John’s Book & Social Media Links
Order our LOW ACID COFFEE "THE BROADCAST BREW": Link to coffee: https://www.coolbeanscoffeemi.com/product-page/broadcast-brew-low-acid-blend
Thank you to Cool Beans Coffee Brewery for your partnership!
#thedillonenglandshow
____________________________________________________
Connect with Dillon:
https://twitter.com/dillonmengland
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillonmengland/
https://www.facebook.com/dillon.england.5
ABOUT THE DILLON ENGLAND SHOW:
Our mission is to provide our listeners with authentic conversation with interesting people, covering a wide range of topics from personal growth, entrepreneurship and lifestyle improvement, all while keeping it entertaining and informative.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-dillon-england-show--6370921/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 3 (00:03):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
So where did his whole thing start?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I mean, I think something that's interesting about my January
sixth story and who I am as a JAY six
defendant is I'm pretty outside of the stereotype that fake
news and lunacy media, as I like to call them,
worked so hard to construct and to propagandaze our country
that there were these middle of the country redneck racist
(00:30):
hicks and terrorists.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Ransacking the capitol.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
So you know, I'm pretty clean cut guy from the
West Coast and an actor and model. Normally people in
my field are very left wing, so that's just kind
of unusual. But it's so important for people to understand
what JA six actually is and why it became the
thing that it became, and how it's still being used.
(00:57):
It wasn't just a day, It wasn't just a rally.
It wasn't just a complaint about an election, right, it
was sort of a flash point for a culmination of
fascist infrastructure that has metastasized within our institutions over decades
and decades, being grabbed and used for nefarious purposes, not
(01:21):
so unsimilar or dissimilar to COVID right, where now we
can look back and see that over time, these these
fascist type infrastructures or mechanisms were being laid down slowly
where no one noticed, and then in a flash suddenly
(01:42):
they literally shut down the world, and no one really
said a peep about it.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
So there's a lot more to.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
January sixth than meets the eye or even meets the
mind at first, and it's really important to dig into
what that is. My story, Like I said, I was
an artist in from California.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
I'm working in all.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I got into the to the freedom fight, to fight
against lockdowns, became the creative director of a nonprofit called
America's Frontline Doctors, and I'm still working actively for that organization.
That's how I came to be in Washington, d C.
On j six was as a colleague of the founder
of the organization, doctor Simone Gould, who was scheduled in
(02:22):
advance to speak at a rally with the government approved permit,
alongside many Congress people.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
They're come on the show, by the way, so I'm
gonna be I'm gonna reader.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, So that's why I was there. I mean, most
people were there simply to exercise their First Amendment right,
as they should, and as I'm so proud of them
for doing so. I truly considered Jay six Ers to
be heroes of our of our time, because it was
(02:49):
a very it was a very pivotal moment in twenty
twenty and what happened with the election and many other
things along those lines was deeply concerning. But it was
not necessarily easy or popular to assemble at that time.
And so the million plus people that did I consider
to be some of the bravest and most engaged citizens
(03:10):
that really care about our republic. So I'm grateful that
they were there, and I was very proud to be
a part of that moment in history.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So at what point in January sixth did you start
seeing like, oh, this is not just hey, we're just
here hanging out. At what point did you start seeing
police getting out of control there started being some issues
because so just full disclosure, I met Siaka yesterday. We
hit it off, we hung out all night last night.
But I haven't had the opportunity. I've talked to a
(03:40):
lot of people that I've talked to people, but I've
never had an opportunity to talk to someone that was
there right. And so I'd love to do two things.
I'd love to talk about your experience there, what you
actually experienced, not what we're told happened. And then I'd
love to talk about the aftermath as well. So what
was your experience on that day?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
So my experience was I would say fairly surreal in
the sense that I know, I now know with the
benefit of hindsight and video, et cetera, that there were
some concerning indications and some moments of questionable behavior, whether
that was protesters or whether it was government operatives uniformed
(04:18):
or otherwise. But some of that started happening perhaps around
eleven o'clock. There was some sort of an insurgent group
on the west side that gained entrance. I think those
people were all dressed in black and have not been
as apprehended. Yeah, that's my understanding, but I was unaware
of that at the time. So throughout the morning portion,
which was when President Trump was speaking at the Ellipse,
(04:40):
it was nothing other than the largest single gathering of
humans I've ever witnessed in my life. And I literally
mean that. I've been in lots of big rallies and
so forth. This crowd blew your mind. People as far
as you could see in every direction, I was right
there in a VIP area of like basically twenty feet
from the stage from President I'm speaking, but just around
(05:02):
us it was a sea of people. But it was
a very optimistic, jovial and purposeful sort of atmosphere, and
everyone was very well behaved. So that's my experience of
J six in the beginning. Okay, then I was of course,
I was part of a group that was scheduled to
speak at the Capitol Building, and the whole idea basically
(05:25):
was that President Trump was speaking in the morning, as
everyone knew, and then the idea was, we're going to march,
you know, a protest march, like a symbolic marsh up
Constitution avenue from the Ellipse to the Capitol Building area
for the afternoon set of speeches, which included, as I mentioned,
many Congress people and other national figures. Wow, more than
a dozen speakers, a pretty impressive lineup, including including Rep's
(05:50):
Lauren bober, Margor Taylor Green, Lance Lance Gooden, doctor Simone Gold,
you know, and many other people. So we walked to
the Capital for that purpose. Once we got there, there
still wasn't anything problematic, but we couldn't find the stage
and we couldn't find the Congress people and their entourage
(06:11):
and organize security to direct what should have been a
fairly well produced afternoon speaking program. So that's when things
got a little weird, just in terms of it wasn't
the plan. And then someone in our team said, we
hear that they're trying to cancel the speech, and that didn't.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Make any sense.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
That's essentially like planning the Super Bowl a year in advance.
All the crowd gets there, they fill into the stadium,
and then it's game time and the ref comes up
and says, the team didn't make it, so we're just
gonna have to cancel the super Bowl. I mean, that
just wouldn't happen. But if it did, the crowd wouldn't
just be like, Okay, we'll go home, be.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Like, uh no, the tkets. We pay for these tickets,
we planned all year.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
There's one hundred thousand people, or in this case in DC,
there was a million people there literally, So it was
just bizarre. And and then it got a little more
confusing then. But a crowd built up onto the steps
of the Capitol, essentially just waving flags, praying, singing, protesting,
and waiting for what was going to happen next, and
(07:13):
then the doors got opened from the inside and people
got flushed through, myself included. But before the doors got
opened up, there was a moment where the tenor the
feeling in the air dramatically changed. When flashbangs blew up.
They sounded like grenades. It felt like a war zone,
and the protesters, myself included, got freaked out. I mean,
(07:35):
we were under attack, and we didn't realize it was
coming or why it would be coming. There was no
indication of why we should be attacked. We were just
up on the stairs. Some people were pressed against the
wall or the door. I mean, that's the extent of
what was happening until suddenly we were under assault. So
at that point it got chaotic and crazy. Of course,
I was stuck in that melee there in front of
(07:56):
the door for maybe ten minutes or so, and then
the doors were open from the inside and we got
pushed in, and then we went on our basically forty
five minute tour at the capitol, literally through velvet ropes,
calmly walking around, taking selfies, talking to people. I did
not witness firsthand any actual vandalism or violence, with the
(08:16):
exception of when I was outside, I saw one person
try to bang on a window. That's the only example
I can personally attest to having witnessed that was inappropriate.
But I didn't see over violence or people attacking anyone.
I just saw moshpit. I was in a mosh pit.
But you know, we were largely excited and happy and
(08:38):
pleasant until we got attacked by the cops, and then
it was bizarre and confusing. But once I was in
the building, I'm not gonna say it was totally orderly
all the time, but for the most part, it was
quite calm and surreal. It felt like a high school
field trip, you know, in the twilight zone. But then
there was smoke and tear gas, not actively shot at
(08:59):
me at that time, a residue, So it was a
bit weird, like, we don't really know what's going on here,
But the cops are in the building and they're not
telling us to go this way or that way. So
we meandered around trying to find how to get out
of the building.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Eventually some police.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Officers told us, no, you can't come through this door,
go back the way you came, so we did. Then
Doctor Gold said, I came here to give my speech,
and there's no opportunity to do it, so if I'm
going to do it, I should just do it now.
Why not do it in the retunda of the Capital
seems kind of makes it meaningful. You're there, we're there.
There was nowhere else to go. We literally couldn't figure
out how to get out of the building yet her
(09:34):
speech was five minutes long, so I shot it on
a phone and then some cops eventually said, hey, we're
trying to clear the entrance so that you can get out.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Would you try to make your way over there? And
we did and then we left.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
So that that was my experience on January sixth, standing
on the steps.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
After we exited, we stayed.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
On the steps for another forty five minutes, just kept
chatting with strangers to see what was their experience.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Of the day.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Largely a great day, got weird for about an hour
or two. Then we heard reports that someone got shot inside,
which of course ended up being Ashley Bobbit, who was murdered.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
But at the time we didn't see it.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
We just heard and we thought, well, that's worrisome, but
things have seen to have settled down.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
The cops were then exiting the building and people were
just leaving.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
So it was a very long day, the majority of
which was positive, peaceful, and as you would expect, with
a couple of hours that got.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Confusing and certainly chaotic.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
And now we understand with hindsight why that happened, and
you know.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
So what's the aftermath?
Speaker 4 (10:34):
So after this all happened, and by the way, I
want to ask you so many follow up questions to
do to time, maybe we can schedule something more later. Sure,
so all this happened, you're finished, You're at the steps,
You're done. When did did the government reach back out
to you? When did things kind of get crazy after?
When did you realize this is this is not over.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
So we heard buzz the following two days, but we.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Didn't understand that we should take it seriously because we
call it fake news for a reason, almost like fear Newstans,
so we expected them to gin up something out of nothing.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
So then we continued on our speaking tour.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
We had dates all up the East Coast that that
two week period, and so we finished our speaking tour,
went back to Los Angeles, and then someone sent me
the FBI's most wanted poster and I was literally front
and center, no way on the FBI's Most Wanted. But
we took a look at the fine print and it
(11:40):
said if you have any information about persons involved in
violent or legal activity, let us know. And we I mean,
obviously we could see our picture in the poster, but
there was twenty some different folks, just random photos, and
we assumed that they didn't necessarily know who was who.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
So they just threw it out there.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
But what they were seeking were people who were actively
involved in vandalism or criminal.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Activity, right right, So you're like, it's not us, it's
not us.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
We did nothing.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
So if they need to call us, they can call
us and we'll answer the phone. Yeah, we were there,
We were scheduled to be there, and all we did
was walk around and give a speech, you know, like
what's the issue.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
So but no one called us. We were just working.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
On a conference call with the several colleagues on Martin
Luther King Day. The irony does not escape me. January
eighteenth of twenty twenty one. So twelve days later, and
our lives were shattered forever. Door was obliterated by a
battering ram. We were charged by.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Are you at your hold?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Where are you right now, a two bedroom condo with
a home office.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
In Beverly Hills. Sorry, it continues to the batter, battering,
ram polarized the door.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Agents charge in with assault rifles to terrify us, have
us get down on the ground, shackle us, throw us
in cars, drive us to jail, separate us, deny me
a phone call, then drag me to a federal detention
center in Los Angeles, disappear me for a total of
four days without ever having a phone call. And I
(13:11):
might have been there for weeks if my co defend
hadn't hired a private investigator to figure out where I
was and then demand i'd be given an opportunity for bond,
which eventually we resolved and I was taken out on bond.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
But it was it was insane, It was insane.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It was my co defendant has had PTSD legitimately from
that experience, I know many other j.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Sixers who have trauma.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Are you in jail four straight days when they first
took pick me up and no one heard from me
for four days?
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Were you? Were you with anyone or you just by yourself?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
I was held in isolation for that time.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
You're in solitary confinement for four days. Did they reach
you your Maranda rights? No, So they didn't reach your
Maranda rights. They didn't give you a phone call. They
put you in solitary confinement for four days.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
The only way you got out was because of a
private investiator for an That's right, it was.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
We talked for an hour later.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I have many questions, I mean, serious civil sights abuses
just in the fourth just off the books, like like.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
I mean, they had a warrant.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
So there are many people in the system that are
complicit in the corruption and weaponization of our institutions.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
And then it's so ironic that they do the same
thing to Trump and they're acting afraid and that He's
gonna do it to them, like they don't deserve it.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah they yeah, they it's frustrated.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
But we have four minutes.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
So in those four days, what were your thoughts, like
what like I mean, I was just a complete whirlwind
of just absolute emotion, just trying to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Yeah, there wasn't much to figure out. I was told nothing.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Geez dude.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I couldn't imagine it had anything to do with anything
other than January sixth. But again, I literally did nothing.
I did my job. My like, I'm not an unknown person.
I'm a I'm a known person. My reason for being
there was known and established in advanced part of a
nonprofit that was scheduled to participate in a rally with
(15:14):
a government approp perm it. They had twelve days to
figure this out, call me and say whatever. So while
I'm in prison, I was furious, my predominant emotion. And
since I was so angry, so angry, I'm still angry.
I mean you should be furious at how So what
it's justice looks like at this point?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
To you? That is a great question. So what does
justice mean? Right?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Justice means restoring the victim and rehabilitating the offender. If
those two things aren't happening, you're not getting justice right.
So the victims must be legitimately restored to the full
extent that's possible. And some people died from January sixth,
innocent protesters died.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
How many people do you know that are still in jail.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I don't know the number, but it's hundreds.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
I'm gonna ask you a question. Maybe you don't know.
So obviously we know Joe Biden has dementia and he
probably it doesn't even shock me if he doesn't even.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Know this happened.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Yeah, Like just to be honest, like I just don't
know what he knows, doesn't know how evil he is
or is.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
And but he's pretty evil. But he's also irrelevant at
this point.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
So during this whole time, who is the person if
you had to say, if we follow this chain down
to this person or this group of people. I understand
the left and the machine and all that kind of stuff,
but in your mind, is there's someone that's like, this
is the person needs to be held accountable for the
actions of January six?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Yeah, Merrick Garland and Matthew Graves.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And who are they for those that don't know, Attorney
General in the United States and assistant Attorney General or
Attorney General in the District of Columbia.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So justice would look like, do process fair trial for them,
but with evidence and the opportunity, because that's the thing,
because we don't want to turn back into just a
kangaroo court, Like we need to give them a fair trial,
but they need to be on trial, I believe then
and then and then we need to bring evidence. And
that's the next steps for America. Do you think at
(17:22):
this point that is a possibility.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
It's very difficult.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Officers serving an official capacity of the government are granted
a very large amount of what's called immunity. So I'm
not going to comment to specifically on that because it's
still debatable, and I think this was so egregious that
they really need to be held accountable.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
The manner in.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Which that is realistically going to take place debatable. Certainly,
I think they need to be fully exposed, shamed, exiled.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
They should never they.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Shall be again, They to be held in complete and
utter contempt by the American people broadly, certainly should never
touch anything related to the government.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I certainly think.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
They should be named, sued, and charged heavily financially, as
well as the department overall. There's more news on that coming,
so stay tuned to John.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Strand dot com. We'll follow podcast.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Yeah, but there's a lot more coming on that note.
But yet, justice needs to happen, so accountability, which is
a necessary step towards rehabilitation for the offender. The idea
is that you acknowledge what you did wrong, you make
amends for it, and that restores your dignity as an offender.
Now I'm under no delusions. Yes, we're not going to
(18:39):
get that from MARYK. Garland and Matthew Graves. In my opinion,
they are deeply corrupt, wicked people, and I don't expect
that to change in this lifetime. But they'll answer to
another judge. But in general, we should be pursuing justice
in the sense of both restoring the victim and rehabilitating offenders.
(18:59):
So we should always have that intention and that priority
in mind. I believe that's essential to justice, which is
essential to our constitutional republic.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
Overall, the last point I'll make and we'll wrap up.
First of all, thanks man. Yeah, I mean, I appreciate
you your team reached out to my show, and I
really appreciate that a lot.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Thank you for sharing. It's very very kind.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
And uh, I think the takeaway at the end of
the day is this is why people need to be
involved in politics.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
People need to vote, people need to.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Be aware of who's who, who's doing what who Because
for a long time the Conservatives were asleep and not proactive.
They were reactive. Yes, and it's time and a lot
of it. So I'm a believer. I'm a Christian, and
a lot of Christians are very like quiet and timid
with their beliefs.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
And it's infuriating to be honest.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And so that's where it's like, we actually need more
sane people talking, not less sane people talking, which is
why I even started doing politics.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
In this podcast, amazing, I love Dylan, You're saying the
exact right thing. The book that I wrote in prison
is called Patriot Plea. The forward for the book is
written by Eric Metaxas, who wrote an incredible, very short,
easy to read book that everyone should read Letter to
the American Church. It speaks exactly to what you're talking about.
And that's my passion. So the book that I wrote
is not just a story of what I.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Went through in.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Prison, but it's my challenge to the country, my plea
that all of us as Americans understand what citizenship actually is,
what it means. If you are in this country illegally, sorry,
but you have to go. If you are in this
country legally, sorry, but you have a responsibility and it's
not optional exactly, And I talk about what's that responsibility is.
(20:34):
And it's my challenge to the country. So I hope
people read that book.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Awesome, So we'll promo that book for you can you
give any social shout outs or anything final as you
wrap up the show that you.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Want to do absolutely Johnstrand dot com. You can sign
up for the book there and watch that crazy video
and at John's Strand USA on ex Twitter and social media.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Guys.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I'm just going to hear this last thing as we
do always in the podcast, because I've talked to Kyle
Man the babelon be Like, That's why I got connected
with them, and so this is my first run in
with this topic. The beautiful thing off in real authentic conversations,
did you go to the source? You ask questions with
people that are actually there, and that's what it looks like.
And so appreciate you guys listening and along. I'm sure
if you have questions you can follow them on socials and.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
All that kind of stuff. James, thank you brother. I
appreciate you.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
So where did his whole thing start?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I mean, I think something that's interesting about my January
sixth story and who I am as a JAY six
defendant is I'm pretty outside of the stereotype that fake
news and lunacy media, as I like to call them,
worked so hard to construct and to propagandaze our country
that there were these middle of the country redneck racist
(00:30):
hicks and terrorists.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Ransacking the capitol.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
So you know, I'm pretty clean cut guy from the
West Coast and an actor and model. Normally people in
my field are very left wing, so that's just kind
of unusual. But it's so important for people to understand
what JA six actually is and why it became the
thing that it became, and how it's still being used.
(00:57):
It wasn't just a day, It wasn't just a rally.
It wasn't just a complaint about an election, right, it
was sort of a flash point for a culmination of
fascist infrastructure that has metastasized within our institutions over decades
and decades, being grabbed and used for nefarious purposes, not
(01:21):
so unsimilar or dissimilar to COVID right, where now we
can look back and see that over time, these these
fascist type infrastructures or mechanisms were being laid down slowly
where no one noticed, and then in a flash suddenly
(01:42):
they literally shut down the world, and no one really
said a peep about it.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
So there's a lot more to.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
January sixth than meets the eye or even meets the
mind at first, and it's really important to dig into
what that is. My story, Like I said, I was
an artist in from California.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
I'm working in all.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I got into the to the freedom fight, to fight
against lockdowns, became the creative director of a nonprofit called
America's Frontline Doctors, and I'm still working actively for that organization.
That's how I came to be in Washington, d C.
On j six was as a colleague of the founder
of the organization, doctor Simone Gould, who was scheduled in
(02:22):
advance to speak at a rally with the government approved permit,
alongside many Congress people.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
They're come on the show, by the way, so I'm
gonna be I'm gonna reader.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, So that's why I was there. I mean, most
people were there simply to exercise their First Amendment right,
as they should, and as I'm so proud of them
for doing so. I truly considered Jay six Ers to
be heroes of our of our time, because it was
(02:49):
a very it was a very pivotal moment in twenty
twenty and what happened with the election and many other
things along those lines was deeply concerning. But it was
not necessarily easy or popular to assemble at that time.
And so the million plus people that did I consider
to be some of the bravest and most engaged citizens
(03:10):
that really care about our republic. So I'm grateful that
they were there, and I was very proud to be
a part of that moment in history.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So at what point in January sixth did you start
seeing like, oh, this is not just hey, we're just
here hanging out. At what point did you start seeing
police getting out of control there started being some issues
because so just full disclosure, I met Siaka yesterday. We
hit it off, we hung out all night last night.
But I haven't had the opportunity. I've talked to a
(03:40):
lot of people that I've talked to people, but I've
never had an opportunity to talk to someone that was
there right. And so I'd love to do two things.
I'd love to talk about your experience there, what you
actually experienced, not what we're told happened. And then I'd
love to talk about the aftermath as well. So what
was your experience on that day?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
So my experience was I would say fairly surreal in
the sense that I know, I now know with the
benefit of hindsight and video, et cetera, that there were
some concerning indications and some moments of questionable behavior, whether
that was protesters or whether it was government operatives uniformed
(04:18):
or otherwise. But some of that started happening perhaps around
eleven o'clock. There was some sort of an insurgent group
on the west side that gained entrance. I think those
people were all dressed in black and have not been
as apprehended. Yeah, that's my understanding, but I was unaware
of that at the time. So throughout the morning portion,
which was when President Trump was speaking at the Ellipse,
(04:40):
it was nothing other than the largest single gathering of
humans I've ever witnessed in my life. And I literally
mean that. I've been in lots of big rallies and
so forth. This crowd blew your mind. People as far
as you could see in every direction, I was right
there in a VIP area of like basically twenty feet
from the stage from President I'm speaking, but just around
(05:02):
us it was a sea of people. But it was
a very optimistic, jovial and purposeful sort of atmosphere, and
everyone was very well behaved. So that's my experience of
J six in the beginning. Okay, then I was of course,
I was part of a group that was scheduled to
speak at the Capitol Building, and the whole idea basically
(05:25):
was that President Trump was speaking in the morning, as
everyone knew, and then the idea was, we're going to march,
you know, a protest march, like a symbolic marsh up
Constitution avenue from the Ellipse to the Capitol Building area
for the afternoon set of speeches, which included, as I mentioned,
many Congress people and other national figures. Wow, more than
a dozen speakers, a pretty impressive lineup, including including Rep's
(05:50):
Lauren bober, Margor Taylor Green, Lance Lance Gooden, doctor Simone Gold,
you know, and many other people. So we walked to
the Capital for that purpose. Once we got there, there
still wasn't anything problematic, but we couldn't find the stage
and we couldn't find the Congress people and their entourage
(06:11):
and organize security to direct what should have been a
fairly well produced afternoon speaking program. So that's when things
got a little weird, just in terms of it wasn't
the plan. And then someone in our team said, we
hear that they're trying to cancel the speech, and that didn't.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Make any sense.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
That's essentially like planning the Super Bowl a year in advance.
All the crowd gets there, they fill into the stadium,
and then it's game time and the ref comes up
and says, the team didn't make it, so we're just
gonna have to cancel the super Bowl. I mean, that
just wouldn't happen. But if it did, the crowd wouldn't
just be like, Okay, we'll go home, be.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Like, uh no, the tkets. We pay for these tickets,
we planned all year.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
There's one hundred thousand people, or in this case in DC,
there was a million people there literally, So it was
just bizarre. And and then it got a little more
confusing then. But a crowd built up onto the steps
of the Capitol, essentially just waving flags, praying, singing, protesting,
and waiting for what was going to happen next, and
(07:13):
then the doors got opened from the inside and people
got flushed through, myself included. But before the doors got
opened up, there was a moment where the tenor the
feeling in the air dramatically changed. When flashbangs blew up.
They sounded like grenades. It felt like a war zone,
and the protesters, myself included, got freaked out. I mean,
(07:35):
we were under attack, and we didn't realize it was
coming or why it would be coming. There was no
indication of why we should be attacked. We were just
up on the stairs. Some people were pressed against the
wall or the door. I mean, that's the extent of
what was happening until suddenly we were under assault. So
at that point it got chaotic and crazy. Of course,
I was stuck in that melee there in front of
(07:56):
the door for maybe ten minutes or so, and then
the doors were open from the inside and we got
pushed in, and then we went on our basically forty
five minute tour at the capitol, literally through velvet ropes,
calmly walking around, taking selfies, talking to people. I did
not witness firsthand any actual vandalism or violence, with the
(08:16):
exception of when I was outside, I saw one person
try to bang on a window. That's the only example
I can personally attest to having witnessed that was inappropriate.
But I didn't see over violence or people attacking anyone.
I just saw moshpit. I was in a mosh pit.
But you know, we were largely excited and happy and
(08:38):
pleasant until we got attacked by the cops, and then
it was bizarre and confusing. But once I was in
the building, I'm not gonna say it was totally orderly
all the time, but for the most part, it was
quite calm and surreal. It felt like a high school
field trip, you know, in the twilight zone. But then
there was smoke and tear gas, not actively shot at
(08:59):
me at that time, a residue, So it was a
bit weird, like, we don't really know what's going on here,
But the cops are in the building and they're not
telling us to go this way or that way. So
we meandered around trying to find how to get out
of the building.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Eventually some police.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Officers told us, no, you can't come through this door,
go back the way you came, so we did. Then
Doctor Gold said, I came here to give my speech,
and there's no opportunity to do it, so if I'm
going to do it, I should just do it now.
Why not do it in the retunda of the Capital
seems kind of makes it meaningful. You're there, we're there.
There was nowhere else to go. We literally couldn't figure
out how to get out of the building yet her
(09:34):
speech was five minutes long, so I shot it on
a phone and then some cops eventually said, hey, we're
trying to clear the entrance so that you can get out.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Would you try to make your way over there? And
we did and then we left.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
So that that was my experience on January sixth, standing
on the steps.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
After we exited, we stayed.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
On the steps for another forty five minutes, just kept
chatting with strangers to see what was their experience.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Of the day.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Largely a great day, got weird for about an hour
or two. Then we heard reports that someone got shot inside,
which of course ended up being Ashley Bobbit, who was murdered.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
But at the time we didn't see it.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
We just heard and we thought, well, that's worrisome, but
things have seen to have settled down.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
The cops were then exiting the building and people were
just leaving.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
So it was a very long day, the majority of
which was positive, peaceful, and as you would expect, with
a couple of hours that got.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Confusing and certainly chaotic.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
And now we understand with hindsight why that happened, and
you know.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
So what's the aftermath?
Speaker 4 (10:34):
So after this all happened, and by the way, I
want to ask you so many follow up questions to
do to time, maybe we can schedule something more later. Sure,
so all this happened, you're finished, You're at the steps,
You're done. When did did the government reach back out
to you? When did things kind of get crazy after?
When did you realize this is this is not over.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
So we heard buzz the following two days, but we.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Didn't understand that we should take it seriously because we
call it fake news for a reason, almost like fear Newstans,
so we expected them to gin up something out of nothing.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
So then we continued on our speaking tour.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
We had dates all up the East Coast that that
two week period, and so we finished our speaking tour,
went back to Los Angeles, and then someone sent me
the FBI's most wanted poster and I was literally front
and center, no way on the FBI's Most Wanted. But
we took a look at the fine print and it
(11:40):
said if you have any information about persons involved in
violent or legal activity, let us know. And we I mean,
obviously we could see our picture in the poster, but
there was twenty some different folks, just random photos, and
we assumed that they didn't necessarily know who was who.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
So they just threw it out there.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
But what they were seeking were people who were actively
involved in vandalism or criminal.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Activity, right right, So you're like, it's not us, it's
not us.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
We did nothing.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
So if they need to call us, they can call
us and we'll answer the phone. Yeah, we were there,
We were scheduled to be there, and all we did
was walk around and give a speech, you know, like
what's the issue.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
So but no one called us. We were just working.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
On a conference call with the several colleagues on Martin
Luther King Day. The irony does not escape me. January
eighteenth of twenty twenty one. So twelve days later, and
our lives were shattered forever. Door was obliterated by a
battering ram. We were charged by.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Are you at your hold?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Where are you right now, a two bedroom condo with
a home office.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
In Beverly Hills. Sorry, it continues to the batter, battering,
ram polarized the door.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Agents charge in with assault rifles to terrify us, have
us get down on the ground, shackle us, throw us
in cars, drive us to jail, separate us, deny me
a phone call, then drag me to a federal detention
center in Los Angeles, disappear me for a total of
four days without ever having a phone call. And I
(13:11):
might have been there for weeks if my co defend
hadn't hired a private investigator to figure out where I
was and then demand i'd be given an opportunity for bond,
which eventually we resolved and I was taken out on bond.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
But it was it was insane, It was insane.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It was my co defendant has had PTSD legitimately from
that experience, I know many other j.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Sixers who have trauma.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Are you in jail four straight days when they first
took pick me up and no one heard from me
for four days?
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Were you? Were you with anyone or you just by yourself?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
I was held in isolation for that time.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
You're in solitary confinement for four days. Did they reach
you your Maranda rights? No, So they didn't reach your
Maranda rights. They didn't give you a phone call. They
put you in solitary confinement for four days.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
The only way you got out was because of a
private investiator for an That's right, it was.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
We talked for an hour later.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I have many questions, I mean, serious civil sights abuses
just in the fourth just off the books, like like.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
I mean, they had a warrant.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
So there are many people in the system that are
complicit in the corruption and weaponization of our institutions.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
And then it's so ironic that they do the same
thing to Trump and they're acting afraid and that He's
gonna do it to them, like they don't deserve it.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah they yeah, they it's frustrated.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
But we have four minutes.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
So in those four days, what were your thoughts, like
what like I mean, I was just a complete whirlwind
of just absolute emotion, just trying to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Yeah, there wasn't much to figure out. I was told nothing.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Geez dude.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I couldn't imagine it had anything to do with anything
other than January sixth. But again, I literally did nothing.
I did my job. My like, I'm not an unknown person.
I'm a I'm a known person. My reason for being
there was known and established in advanced part of a
nonprofit that was scheduled to participate in a rally with
(15:14):
a government approp perm it. They had twelve days to
figure this out, call me and say whatever. So while
I'm in prison, I was furious, my predominant emotion. And
since I was so angry, so angry, I'm still angry.
I mean you should be furious at how So what
it's justice looks like at this point?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
To you? That is a great question. So what does
justice mean? Right?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Justice means restoring the victim and rehabilitating the offender. If
those two things aren't happening, you're not getting justice right.
So the victims must be legitimately restored to the full
extent that's possible. And some people died from January sixth,
innocent protesters died.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
How many people do you know that are still in jail.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I don't know the number, but it's hundreds.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
I'm gonna ask you a question. Maybe you don't know.
So obviously we know Joe Biden has dementia and he
probably it doesn't even shock me if he doesn't even.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Know this happened.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Yeah, Like just to be honest, like I just don't
know what he knows, doesn't know how evil he is
or is.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
And but he's pretty evil. But he's also irrelevant at
this point.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
So during this whole time, who is the person if
you had to say, if we follow this chain down
to this person or this group of people. I understand
the left and the machine and all that kind of stuff,
but in your mind, is there's someone that's like, this
is the person needs to be held accountable for the
actions of January six?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Yeah, Merrick Garland and Matthew Graves.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And who are they for those that don't know, Attorney
General in the United States and assistant Attorney General or
Attorney General in the District of Columbia.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So justice would look like, do process fair trial for them,
but with evidence and the opportunity, because that's the thing,
because we don't want to turn back into just a
kangaroo court, Like we need to give them a fair trial,
but they need to be on trial, I believe then
and then and then we need to bring evidence. And
that's the next steps for America. Do you think at
(17:22):
this point that is a possibility.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
It's very difficult.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Officers serving an official capacity of the government are granted
a very large amount of what's called immunity. So I'm
not going to comment to specifically on that because it's
still debatable, and I think this was so egregious that
they really need to be held accountable.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
The manner in.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Which that is realistically going to take place debatable. Certainly,
I think they need to be fully exposed, shamed, exiled.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
They should never they.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Shall be again, They to be held in complete and
utter contempt by the American people broadly, certainly should never
touch anything related to the government.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I certainly think.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
They should be named, sued, and charged heavily financially, as
well as the department overall. There's more news on that coming,
so stay tuned to John.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Strand dot com. We'll follow podcast.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Yeah, but there's a lot more coming on that note.
But yet, justice needs to happen, so accountability, which is
a necessary step towards rehabilitation for the offender. The idea
is that you acknowledge what you did wrong, you make
amends for it, and that restores your dignity as an offender.
Now I'm under no delusions. Yes, we're not going to
(18:39):
get that from MARYK. Garland and Matthew Graves. In my opinion,
they are deeply corrupt, wicked people, and I don't expect
that to change in this lifetime. But they'll answer to
another judge. But in general, we should be pursuing justice
in the sense of both restoring the victim and rehabilitating offenders.
(18:59):
So we should always have that intention and that priority
in mind. I believe that's essential to justice, which is
essential to our constitutional republic.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
Overall, the last point I'll make and we'll wrap up.
First of all, thanks man. Yeah, I mean, I appreciate
you your team reached out to my show, and I
really appreciate that a lot.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Thank you for sharing. It's very very kind.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
And uh, I think the takeaway at the end of
the day is this is why people need to be
involved in politics.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
People need to vote, people need to.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Be aware of who's who, who's doing what who Because
for a long time the Conservatives were asleep and not proactive.
They were reactive. Yes, and it's time and a lot
of it. So I'm a believer. I'm a Christian, and
a lot of Christians are very like quiet and timid
with their beliefs.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
And it's infuriating to be honest.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And so that's where it's like, we actually need more
sane people talking, not less sane people talking, which is
why I even started doing politics.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
In this podcast, amazing, I love Dylan, You're saying the
exact right thing. The book that I wrote in prison
is called Patriot Plea. The forward for the book is
written by Eric Metaxas, who wrote an incredible, very short,
easy to read book that everyone should read Letter to
the American Church. It speaks exactly to what you're talking about.
And that's my passion. So the book that I wrote
is not just a story of what I.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Went through in.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Prison, but it's my challenge to the country, my plea
that all of us as Americans understand what citizenship actually is,
what it means. If you are in this country illegally, sorry,
but you have to go. If you are in this
country legally, sorry, but you have a responsibility and it's
not optional exactly, And I talk about what's that responsibility is.
(20:34):
And it's my challenge to the country. So I hope
people read that book.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Awesome, So we'll promo that book for you can you
give any social shout outs or anything final as you
wrap up the show that you.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Want to do absolutely Johnstrand dot com. You can sign
up for the book there and watch that crazy video
and at John's Strand USA on ex Twitter and social media.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Guys.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I'm just going to hear this last thing as we
do always in the podcast, because I've talked to Kyle
Man the babelon be Like, That's why I got connected
with them, and so this is my first run in
with this topic. The beautiful thing off in real authentic conversations,
did you go to the source? You ask questions with
people that are actually there, and that's what it looks like.
And so appreciate you guys listening and along. I'm sure
if you have questions you can follow them on socials and.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
All that kind of stuff. James, thank you brother. I
appreciate you.
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